Shinji 108
by SamJaz
Summary: 2004: Shinji Ikari entered the Spartan Mk. II program. 2015: Spartan-108 becomes the Green Ranger and is working for NERV to defeat the angels. Halo/PowerRangers/Eva crossover. Thought I'd mix things up a little.
1. Welcome to Tokyo 03

Yet another bad idea that I intend to turn awesome.

And on that note, I finally got around to watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, including End of Evangelion. It was pretty good, but what was all that nonsense about a mindscrew? Made perfect sense to me, even if it got a bit Lovecraftian.

Anyhoo, without further ado, let's get on with it. Too.

Also, I've just edited this starting chapter. I wrote this before I realised that this was a Halo story, so had to jiggle things about.

And another thing. A while ago, I hired Casey W to do a sequel of Fairly English Story covering the events of Persona 4. He got the job because he volunteered and had some interesting ideas to go with it. He's got three chapters up so far, and it gets my seal of approval. Search in "Persona 4: Face Every Shadow" for more information. He also stole the title for the sequel to For Every Soul, but I suppose I'll just double the length of FES instead.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_2015 A.D._

_\_ "_Due to the special emergency, all lines are currently unavailable."_ _\_

"Useless…" Shinji Ikari sighed to himself, hanging up the phone. "I shouldn't have bothered coming in the first place…"

He looked around the deserted city as he heaved his bag from the floor and onto his shoulder. "I guess we won't be meeting here after all…" he muttered, glancing at the photograph of the woman who was supposed to be picking him up.

Why couldn't his dad show up anyway?

"Can't be helped." Shinji decided. "Guess I'll have to look for the shelter-"

He saw a blue-haired girl in a skin-tight blue suit, standing across the road as birds flew overhead.

Then the earth and sky shook with a piercing roar.

Shinji turned around, attention perked from the volume of noise, to see a team of gyrocopters coming around the mountain.

Followed by a massive monster.

It was huge, towering over the skyscrapers of the city. Its colossal body was black with grey lumps of bone exposed on its skin. A red dome was on its chest, covered slightly by the beast's external ribcage.

Shinji looked at it in horror, the girl forgotten.

* * *

Deep beneath Tokyo, in the centre of the Geofront, humanity's final defence lay waiting. In the command centre, the raging battle was being watched by an entire bridge of specialist military operatives, each operator's arms tense and expression focused.

The only man who seemed calm in this dark atmosphere was the commander, seated high above the rest.

"It's been fifteen years, hasn't it?" Fuyutsuki asked Commander Gendo Ikari as the visual of the enemy came into view on the massive monitor.

"Yes, there's no doubt." Gendo replied as the behemoth strode across the screen. "It's an angel."

* * *

Shinji watched as the monster was bombarded with white explosions that did nothing to even slow the beast's march. The Angel raised an arm and launched a pink spike through one aircraft, piercing it with ease.

The spike retracted into the monster's arm, and the airship fell through the air, crash-landing through the payphone as Shinji leapt out of the way. The monster glowed red and a halo appeared above its head as it jumped into the air, landing with a foot smashing through the fallen gyrocopter.

Shinji shielded his face with his arms as shrapnel flew, then turned as a car handbrake-span to a stop behind him.

"Get in!" the woman driving shouted at him from behind her sunglasses as she opened the passenger door. "Sorry I'm late!"

Shinji vaulted over an overturned post, slamming the car door shut behind him as he landed. She shoved the car into reverse as the airships bombarded the monster with missiles that did little or no damage to the monster.

She swerved the car around and sped away from the warzone as a massive missile flew over their heads towards the beast.

The behemoth, Sachiel, caught it with one hand, pressing through the nose as the shaft split into four and bent around the arm before exploding.

Shinji turned in his seat to see the creature looming out of the flames almost unharmed through the rear window.

* * *

Gendo Ikari watched the military commanders in uproar over how useless their heavy artillery was against the angel. "So, it's an AT-Field after all?" Fuyutsuki asked the commander of NERV.

"Yes." Gendo replied, not taking his eyes away from the monitor. "Conventional weapons are useless against the angels."

One of the military men picked up a phone and swiped a card key through a slot.

"Activate it." He ordered.

* * *

"Now wait a second…" Misato whispered through her binoculars once they were a good distance away from the city.

Shinji took this chance to look her over. Captain Misato Katsuragi, despite being dressed for a more fun event, was glaring into her binoculars with the face of a woman of her military experience.

She tore the binoculars from her face. "THEY'RE GONNA USE AN N-2 MINE!" She shouted, forcing Shinji into his seat. "GET DOWN!"

A second sun rose from the ground near the angel.

The world was filled with the explosion.

Light and dust filled the horizon, and even from the distance they were at, the shockwave picked up the car like it was a toy and tossed it away.

The car rolled across the dirt.

Shinji knew.

He knew the beast wasn't dead.

* * *

After the shockwave, Shinji slipped through the window to flip the car. Misato was concussed from the crash, and he didn't blame her.

Thankfully, she's regained conciousness by the time the car slammed back to its wheels.

"Shinji…" she grunted, standing up from the recovery position Shinji had placed her in the dirt. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." He replied. "Are you alright to drive?"

She rubbed her head, checking for blood. "Yeah." She nodded. "I've driven with worse."

Shinji nodded as she walked around the blue vehicle. "Captain Katsuragi?" he asked. "What was that?"

"It's an Angel Shinji." She replied, getting into the drivers seat. "It's what your father fights."

* * *

Fortunately, while the N-2 mine had a payload comparable to a nuke, it didn't have the EMP properties of one, so the car's electronics were still operable.

Shinji remained silent as they repaired the car with some duck tape and commandeered car batteries, looking out the window as they drove.

Eventually, the question arose. "Captain Katsuragi?" he asked.

"Hm?" she smiled. "What is it?"

Shinji took a calming breath and continued to look out the window at the hulking figure in the distance. "My father… he wants me to fight that thing… doesn't he?"

Mitsato sighed. "You're no fun at all." She said. "What makes you say that?"

"He sent me to boot camp when I was five years old." Shinji told her. "He sends me a letter ordering me to come back nine years later, completely out of the blue, and one of the monster's he's fighting shows up on the same day I do." He turned around to face her. "Misato. Does my father want me to fight for him?"

She looked away, eyes on the road. "Yes." She told him. "Yes he does."

Shinji nodded. "And how am I supposed to fight something that shrugged off an N2 mine?" he asked.

"You'll know when we get there." She replied.

* * *

"Nerv?" Shinji asked as the steel door closed behind the car once they reached their destination.

"It's a secret organisation that works for the UN." Misato explained.

"And this is where my father works." Shinji nodded. "Understood."

Misato sighed. "Man, those soldiers trained you solid." She complained. "Do you even know what your father does?"

"He fights Angels." He replied. "And he works as part of a secret organisation under the UN. His work is vital to the survival of the human race."

She looked at Shinji.

He wasn't the teenage boy he had expected.

She'd been expecting some ineffectual loner, not this… solider.

He was huge. Much taller than a fourteen year old boy should be, and the muscles on his arm were bigger than some peoples legs.

The look in the eyes was like that of a soldier who'd been removed from a unit that had been his family for years. To be fair, he was.

A wolf removed from his pack to live with apes.

"Ah, that's right." Misato remembered. "Do you have the ID card your father sent you?"

Shinji silently removed an envelope from inside his jacket and handed it to her. She opened it, showing a document that had been completely blacked out, and an almost torched note that merely said – COME. Gendo Ikari. –

"Thank you." She added as Shinji pulled the ID card from his pocket, flashing it to her. "Then, read this." She said, handing him a green textbook with the NERV logo on the front.

He took it, and stared at it for a moment before opening it. "Of course." Shinji sighed, opening it obediently. "He wouldn't have called for me if he didn't need me."

"You don't get along with your father, do you?" Misato asked him, leaning back in her chair. "It's the same with me."

Shinji turned to look at her, somewhat surprised by her openness, as the platform carrying their car moved into an open space with buildings descending from the ceiling. "Wow…" he gasped, leaning for a better look. "A real Geofront!"

Misato smirked, happy to see a standard teenager reaction for once. "That's our secret base." She told him as he stared at the ground far below. "NERV headquarters. This is the key to rebuilding the world, a fortress for all mankind."

* * *

Shinji's amazement soon turned to disappointment as Misato got lost in her own secret base.

Still, it gave him more time to study the briefing documents.

"Don't worry." Misato stated as she glanced from her map. "I know exactly where we're going."

"We passed by this spot eleven minutes ago." Shinji told her, his nose in the manual.

Misato made a face at him, then smiled. "I-It's okay!" she said. "They made these systems to be used, after all!"

* * *

Exactly three minutes and twenty six seconds later, Misato backed away from the blonde scientist that entered the elevator in a swimsuit under her labcoat. "Uh, hiya, Ritsuko." She said, completely embarrassed.

"What were you doing, Captain Katsuragi?" Ritsuko asked her pleasantly. "We're short on both time and manpower, you know."

Misato smirked sheepishly as she apologised, with Ritsuko sighing. "So, is this the boy?" the blonde asked the other woman.

"Right." Misato replied, righting herself for business. "According to the Zordon Report, he's the Sixth Child."

"I'm sorry." Shinji interrupted, looking up from his book. "But according to this I'm only the third."

Ritsuko turned to him. "Well, we've yet to find the other three children." She said. "But for all intents and purposes, you are the sixth of the set. I'm Ritsuko Akagi, by the way."

"Shinji Ikari." He replied, bowing, before returning to the manual.

"He's just like his father, isn't he?" Misato asked the scientist.

Ritsuko just frowned at that.

* * *

Shinji focused on reading the book as the two women talked about the situation. As per his training, Shinji took in their conversation through osmosis, focusing his attention on the material he had been given as a briefing.

He just followed them until they stopped in a darkened corridor.

The door closed completely behind them and Shinji lowered his book, folding the corner of the page he was at as the room fell into complete darkness.

He closed his eyes just before the lights came on, allowing his eyes to adjust before opening them.

In the face of a dragon.

Shinji backed off in fear before the training took over.

He faced a mighty metal snout and a massive row of pointed, triangular metal teeth, grinning at him. "It's… a dragon…" Shinji gasped. "A metal dragon…"

"You won't find this in the manual." Ritsuko told him as he began to flick through the remaining pages. "This is mankind's ultimate multipurpose decisive weapon. The synthetic machine-god, the mighty Dragonzord. Built in absolute secrecy, this is mankind's trump card."

"There are five more, aren't there." Shinji realised. "And only certain people can pilot them. I'm only the third one you've found."

_\_ "Correct." _\_

Shinji looked up to see his father looming over him in a glass box. _\_ "It's been a while." _\_ Gendo Ikari told him.

Shinji stood up straighter and saluted perfectly.

A sign of military obedience.

Awaiting orders.

Gendo smirked. _\_ "We're moving out." _\_

"Hold on!" Misato shouted. "The Triceratops is still being repaired!" her eyes widened. "You're not… no, Rei can't pilot the Dragonzord!"

"Correct." Ritsuko stated. "Shinji shall pilot."

"But… even Rei took seven months to be able to control the powers of her Zord!" Misato shouted. "It's impossible to do it, he just got here!"

"He just has to put on the suit and stand in the cockpit for now." Ritsuko told her. "We don't expect anything more than that."

Misato scowled. "But-!"

"Repelling the angel is of the top priority." Shinji stated, standing upright. "I will perform to the best of my ability. Please tell me what I need to do."

"Shinji…"

"Just answer me this, father." Shinji said flatly, looking up at the glass box where Gendo Ikari stood. "Why did you send for me? I thought you didn't need me."

_\_ "I have a need for you now." _\_ the boy's father replied.

"Why me?" Shinji asked. "Out of everyone in Japan, why me?"

_\_ "You are young, a Spartan and you can play the flute." _\_ Gendo explained. _\_ "You are our only candidate for this role." _\_

'_And that's all, isn't it?'_ Shinji thought, scowling as the base shook. _\_ "It must have detected our location." _\_ Gendo stated. _\_ "So what is your decision?" _\_

"I'll do it." Shinji stated.

Ritusko nodded, pulling an octagonical object from a small case in her labcoat. "This is your Power Morpher." She said, handing it to Shinji. "Hold it out, shout the activation words you read in the manual, and the name of your Zord in order to morph. When more of you get together, only one of you needs say the activation words to initiate the morphing sequence, but by sounding off in reverse numerical order."

Shinji looked over it. "The manual said that you had three machines, Alpha 5, Ninjor, and Zordon?" he asked Ritsuko.

She nodded. "The magi."

"Right." Shinji said, hooking his fingers into the handle that flicked out the back of the device. "What are their prediction of my success?"

"Enough." Misato answered before Ritsuko could. "Shinji, are you sure about this?"

Shinji dropped the half-read book onto the floor and faced his father.

He spread his legs into a power stance and held the Power Morpher out with both hands.

Taking a deep breath, he shouted the activation sequence.

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

Shinji was surrounded by green lightning as he roared. "_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

The light faded and Shinji was dressed in green and white armour. There was a gold breastplate on his shoulders, and a dinosaur-like helmet on his head.

The Power Morpher was on his belt, as a buckle, with a pistol on one side and a large dagger with three keys on the black grip. "Impressive." Ritsuko said, masking her surprise. "A successful morph on his first try."

The Green Ranger turned to the Dragonzord. "The Ranger suit will enhance your physical abilities, as well as allowing you to enter the Dragonzord." Ritsuko explained to Shinji. "The Dragon Armour will also protect you further. The dagger on your belt doubles as a crude flute that you can use to control your various abilities, but that can wait." She gestured to the metal behemoth that was submerged up to the shoulders in the water. "Just jump inside."

"Just jump?" Shinji asked, frowning under the helmet. "It's too far, I can't jump that sort of distance."

"You can now. Just trust the suit." Misato said. "I'll be in the command centre. PREPARE FOR LAUNCH!" she ordered everyone, walking away from the scene.

Shinji nodded, pushed his feet against the ground and rolled through the air towards the Dragonzord.

He jumped impossibly far and far too slow for the momentum to keep him above the water below, and yet he didn't fall. For a person who had trained to know the limits of his body's capabilities, it was extremely disconcerting.

He didn't know how he landed inside the cockpit, only that he did.

It was a tight black box with a dim light.

The front and side walls activated to show a display of the holding bay of the Dragonzord as the team drained the cold brine and removed the restraints holding the Zord.

* * *

_\_ "When we launch you, just use your mind to control the Dragonzord." _\_ Ritsuko told him a minute later as they prepared to launch the metal beast. _\_ "The angel will be right in front of you, so you'll have to fight straight away." _\_

"Right." Shinji nodded, standing in the cockpit as he willed the Dragonzord's fingers to move.

He felt it.

It was an odd feeling.

He was seperate from the Dragonzord.

It was separate from the Green Ranger.

And yet they were one and the same.

This would take some time to get used to.

Time he didn't have.

_\_ "Are you ready Shinji?" _\_ Misato's voice asked him.

"Yes." he answered immediately.

_\_ "Alright then." _\_ Misato replied. _\_ "DRAGONZORD LAUNCH!" _\_

The ground shuddered, and the platform the zord was standing atop shot up.

At this speed, Shinji should be feeling his blood rushing to his feet, but the G-force didn't seem to affect him.

So if the Dragonzord were to trip, Shinji wouldn't die from the fall.

That was good to know.

* * *

When the rush stopped, Shinji was in a dark city, towering above the skyline, facing the beast that wished to destroy mankind.

_\_ "Are you ready?" _\_ Misato asked him a final time.

"Yes." Shinji repeated, staring at the target.

_\_ "Release the final safety lock!" _\_

The locks binding the Dragonzord's shoulders to the platform came off.

_\_ "Dragonzord, lift off!" _\_

The behemoth's tail fell from its back and clicked into its rightful place as the columns around the Dragonzord retreated into the ground.

_\_ "Shinji, just concentrate on walking right now." _\_ Ritsuko told him. _\_ "Remember, the Dragonzord has short limbs so you will have to make careful, deliberate steps until you get used to it." _\_

Shinji knew this.

And it scared him.

In every fight in his life, he won through speed, skill, trickery and sheer fury.

The Dragonzord was strong and powerful, but it wasn't capable of any of these things yet.

Those commanding Shinji knew the terrain, but Shinji did not, so the angel had the advantage.

Shinji was battling an unknown enemy in unfamilliar territory with a body completely different to his own.

Everything he knew was useless here.

He took a deep breath. "Walk..." he said to himself.

The Dragonzord took a powerful, lumbering step towards the enemy.

It swaggered as it did so.

No, the whole machine turned a good thirty degrees just to move one foot.

How did they expect him to fight in something _this_ unwieldly?

To his credit, Shinji didn't panic. "Walk." he ordered the monster, trying to control the step this time.

It raised a foot, but the tail didn't turn to counter the balance.

The Dragonzord fell forwards and sideways, smashing through a building as it collided to the floor.

Shinji grunted as the pain transferred through him, shielding his helmeted head from the sparks flying in the tight cockpit.

_\_ "Shinji, get it together!" _\_ Misato told him as the angel approached.

Shinji buried his fear, focusing in getting the Dragonzord to push itself back up.

_Its hands were too short._

_\_ "SHINJI!" _\_ Misato shouted. _\_ "Get to your feet!" _\__  
_

_The enemy is getting closer._

Shinji rolled the Dragonzord onto its side, hoping to use its massive tail to force it upright.

The angel grabbed the crest on the machine's head and lifted it in the air. Shinji raised his arms to try and grab the angel's wrist, but the Dragonzord's massive arms weren't built for length or manoeuvrability.

Seeing the attempted movement, however, the angel grabbed the Dragonzord's left arm and began to pull.

Shinji grabbed his own arm in reflex at the pain.

_\_ "Calm down Shinji!" _\_ Misato told him as he looked at the massive veins bulging through the green suit. _\_ "That's not your arm!" _\_

Easy for her to say. It wasn't her arm that was being torn off.

Metal cracked.

The forearm of the Dragonzord crumpled under the pressure.

Shinji focused on his breathing as he began to block out the pain as people relayed damage reports into his ear.

The angel lifted the Dragonzord into the air with one arm, and a spike slid out of the back of the elbow. "DODGE!"

Shinji knew that was impossible.

The glowing pink spike slammed into the Dragonzord's face.

Again.

And again.

The black visor of the Green Ranger helmet broke from the recoil damage as Shinji blinked the blood from his right eye. "DRAGONZORD!" he shouted. "WORK WITH ME!"

The spike pierced the Dragonzord's skull, pushing the machine back through the city, slamming it against a building before retracting its spike. The Dragonzord slumped forward, streams of fire bursting from the hole in its eye and the back of its head.

Shinji screamed in pain as the cockpit turned dark and silent.

He couldn't do anything.

He was injured, but he could still stand.

He was alive, but he couldn't fight.

He had been defeated.

But the battle hadn't ended.

"Captain Misato?" Shinji asked, hoping for a response. " Captain? Captain Misato, respond!"

The line was dead.

"Ritsuko?" He tried again. "HQ, anyone, PLEASE RESPOND!"

Silence.

Silence and Darkness.

"Father?" Shinji asked pathetially as he slumped to his bottom, curling up into a ball. "Mother... Chief... anyone... please..."

He pulled himself tighter.

_'Tell me what to do... help me...'_

* * *

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

_I will help you._

* * *

Shinji lifted his head as the cockpit vanished, replaced with a view of the night sky from the Dragonzord's eyes as it roared.

The world turned as the Dragonzord fell onto all fours, roaring, then leapt for the angel.

It recoiled as the Dragonzord knocked it to the ground. The machine screamed in hate as the drill-like tail curved over its shoulders and stabbed into the angel's black flesh.

The angel pushed the Dragonzord back, throwing it across the city as it got to its feet and began to regenerate the damage. The Dragonzord landed on its face again, but stood upright with ease, simply by rotating the body while keeping its feet planted firmly into the ground.

Shinji stood upright and grabbed the Dragon Dagger as his Zord marched towards the angel. He put an edge of the hand guard to the lips of his helmet and played a song that formed in his hands without him ever knowing it before.

The damaged parts of the Dragonzord repaired themselves as the machine beast picked up speed, charging at the angel with a massive claw.

The angel summoned an octagonal orange barrier to stop the Dragonzord's attack, but the fingers pierced it, barely. The Dragonzord lifted up another unwieldy arm and pushed the fingertips into the angels AT-field

The fingers managed to push through.

The Dragonzord tore open a hole around the size of the Dragonzord's chest plate, as said chest plate began to glow red.

A roar from the angel signaled a massive blast of pink energy consumed that the Dragonzord, continuing for half a mile before splitting into a cross-shape.

A smaller blast of crimson light exploded from the source of the blast, neutralising it. As the angel's beam faded away, the Shinji's machine remained standing defiant against the monster.

The Dragonzord reached a stubby arm out and grabbed the crossed arms of the angel tightly.

The machine's wrist rotated 540 degrees, snapping the angel's forearms with ease.

The angel screamed as the Dragonzord released the useless, muliated arms and span around, slamming its tail into the side of the angel, sending it flying across the city.

It landed painfully in the middle of the street as the Dragonzord rushed it, slamming it into a building that skidded across the ground before sliding to a stop.

The angel lay there.

Completely at Shinji's mercy.

Right now, he had none.

Shinji lifted an arm high behind his head.

The Dragonzord brought its arm back.

Shinji reversed the grip of the dagger and slammed it forward.

The Dragonzord's claw crushed the red sphere in the angel's chest under its grip.

The angel's eyes glowed bright.

Shinji roared.

The Dragonzord spewed flame from its mouth.

The angel burnt.

The angel died.

The beast lived.

The boy was plunged into darkness.

Shinji fell back against the back wall of the cockpit, panting for breath as the adrenaline began to die down.

The cockpit returned to life.

Silence faded.

_\_ "...confirmed, the pilot is alive!" _\_

_\_ "Shinji!" _\_ Misato shouted.

"I eliminated the target..." Shinji gasped as pain began to burn in his bones. "I've sustained... minor injuries... the helmet is damaged... the Dragonzord... appears to have... shut down..." He closed his eyes. "I... I can't... keep... concious... much... longer..."

_\_ "Shinji, stay with us." _\_ Ritsuko told him. _\_ "You need to leave the cockpit yourself- we can't get in." _\_

Shinji opened his eyes, but fell back.

_\_ "The pilot has lost conciousness!" _\_ Hyuga shouted. _\_ "We can retrieve the Dragonzord, but he needs medical attention!" _\_

_\_ "Prepare the Blue Ranger." _\_ Gendo stated. _\_ "Even injured, she will be able to enter the cockpit and retrieve the boy." _\_

* * *

"Ikari, I advise against this." Fuyutsuki told Gendo as they strode to the docking bay of the Dragonzord as the team began to clamp the Zord back into place. "She's barely able to walk."

Gendo looked as the blue-haired girl was wheeled in on a hospital trolley. "Rei." he said, walking over to her.

"Commander... Ikari..." she replied, smiling behind her bandaged eye.

"The Green Ranger has lost consciousness inside the Dragonzord." Gendo told her. "I need you to go inside and retrieve him. Can you do this?"

"Ikari!" Fuyutsuki shouted.

Rei nodded, grunting as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Don't strain yourself!" the medic warned her.

She shook her head as she gripped her Power Morpher, panting for each breath.

"It's... Morphing... Time."

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

I got a feeling that somebody's gonna enjoy this. I got a feeling it might be me.

And yes, I am aware that so far this has been very simmilar to what already happened, especially the fight scenes. Bear with me, normally I'm allowed to be more creative.


	2. Unfamilliar Ceilings

Alright everyone. Second chapter of this thing.

Slicerness, Shinji's personality is an odd mix between his anime persona, where he cared too much, his manga persona, where he didn't care at all, and Master Chief. Yes. You read that right.

As for Gendo, it'll all make sense in this chapter.

And on that note, there'll be a lot of mixes between the Evangelion anime and the manga.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**September 2004**_

"_Pay attention to your teacher boy." Gendo Ikari told his son as he walked away. "He will make you strong and teach you to follow orders."_

"_Daddy!" Shinji shouted after his father. "Don't go! I wanna be with you daddy!"_

"_Then become strong and learn to follow orders." Gendo told him coldly. "Then I will call for you."_

* * *

_Shinji heard a bell ring loudly in his sleep. He tucked up into his bed, only to receive an electric shock that jolted him into the world of the walking._

_A large man with a police baton with a low-level tazer blended into the design in his hand loomed over the boy._

"_Perhaps you didn't hear Spartan 108." The man stated. "Out of bed. Clothes off. Into the shower. Wash. Out of the shower. Dressed. Outside for a run. Double time."_

_The four-year old boy bolted from the bed to the sound of running water, crying freely as he took his clothes off._

_Boys and girls alike shared the communal shower without any barriers between them, but none of the children cared._

_If they were older, they still would have been too terrified to protest._

* * *

_After the shower, all the children dressed in matching clothes of a dark green colour. _

_The run turned out to be a two-mile hiking course under the night sky that the children ran through as fast they could as the bad men chased them with their batons._

_When they reached their destination, all but one of the children collapsed to the ground, Spartan 104 managing to stay on his knees._

_"SPARTANS! " Chief Mendez shouted. "Up. 2-minutes of jumping jacks. First one to slow down gets a shock. Anyone who does less than a hundred has to continue for twice that time."_

_The children looked at the man in horror._

_"NOW!"_

* * *

_Two minutes later, all thirty children fell flat on their backs, gasping for air._

"_Two minutes pushups." Chief Mendez ordered. "First to slow down gets a shock. Anyone who does less than fifty has to do double."_

_Shinji couldn't take it anymore. _

_He rolled onto his side, shaking._

_A baton struck his stomach._

_Last nights dinner left his mouth violently._

"_Pushups 108." The warden told him. "Now."_

_Sobbing silently, Shinji rolled over, pressing a hand into his own vomit and began to lower his exhausted body into it._

* * *

_Two minutes later, bottles of water were handed out._

_Shinji tore his bottle open and began gulping it down._

_It was warm._

_It was slightly salty._

_It was the best water he had ever tasted._

_He wiped his mouth as he looked around. The sun was beginning to rise through the forest. All the other children had confused feelings of fear and tiredness, but most of that was completely covered by the exhaustion and their sheer joy of having the water._

_He hadn't been counting, but he knew that he hadn't done anywhere near enough to pass the impossible bar given to them by their teacher._

_So… why hadn't anyone had to do it again?_

_"SPARTANS ON YOUR FEET!" Chief Mendez shouted. "Enough rest. We're going for another run!"_

_Shinji leapt up, downing the rest of the bottle before throwing it away, not wanting to be left behind._

_Mendez watched the wardens lead the children through the forest. "Keep them exhausted." He told the head warden before he went with the others. "Don't let them think, don't give them time to think."_

_"They mustn't think about what we're doing to them." Mendez told the warden. "It'll break them."_

* * *

_**2015**_

Shinji woke up to see the white light.

He sat up and took in his surroundings as he tried to piece together what had happened.

He was in a hospital.

Daylight was streaming through the windows.

There were crickets chirping outside.

So, it was morning...

People were working.

Shinji leant back in the bed. "I don't know this ceiling." He muttered, thinking of all the other times he'd thought that in his life.

* * *

** So, the angels have returned, eh? It's so sudden.**

**It's the same as it was fifteen years ago. A disaster comes as it will, without warning.**

**I could say that it was fortunate, in the sense that our prior investments were not a waste.**

**You can't be sure about that yet. If it doesn't pay off, it's a waste all the same.**

**Precisely. Now that the angels, and the fact that we have been manipulating information, have become public knowledge, NERV must operate in a speedy and prudent manner.**

"It's already been taken care of." Gendo told the circle of black columns. "You can rest assured of that."

* * *

"So, we're hushing the truth again?" Misato asked, fanning herself.

"At least the PR people are thrilled." Ritsuko replied with a shrug. "They finally have something to do."

"We're being pretty casual about it." Misato pointed out.

"I don't know about that." Ritsuko said, not looking up from her computer. "I think everyone's actually pretty scared."

Misato stopped the fan. "Of course we are."

* * *

**Well, we must acknowledge that.**

**Speaking of which, Ikari, isn't there a better way to utilise NERV and the Power Coins?**

**First, there are the repairs to the Triceratops Zord, and now to the Dragonzord, which you all but totalled in its first battle. It's enough to bankrupt a small country.**

**We also understand that you gave that particular toy to your son. **

**Manpower, time and money. How much more do you and your family plan on wasting?**

**And that is not your only responsibility.**

**The Human Instrumentality Project. That should be your top priority.**

**Precisely. Under these desperate circumstances, that project is our one and only hope.**

**In any case, we cannot excuse any delays to that project's schedule, due to the reappearance of the angels. We will consider the issues regarding the budget. Now, the rest of this meeting concerns only the committee.**

**Your presence was much appreciated, Ikari.**

The black columns faded, except for one.

_**Ikari, there's no turning back.**_

"I know." Gendo said from behind his gloved hands. "Mankind has no time left."

The red column opposite him laughed menacingly.

It was the only one without a red number on its face.

Instead, a silver letter.

* * *

Shinji walked through the hospital, getting to know the surroundings out of habit.

Chief Mendez had trained him to never let his guard down, especially if you are somewhere you don't know.

So Shinji got to work on knowing this place.

It helped calm him down.

Analysing every corner of the hospital and judging every face in terms of threat level was much better than thinking right now.

He passed by a blue-haired girl covered in bandages being wheeled on a hospital trolley. Shinji didn't know her, but from the contempt in her eyes, she knew Shinji.

From her muscle tone, Shinji assumed that she may be another Ranger, one too injured to take part in the previous battle.

That, or she was injured in the previous battle.

Shinji watched as she was wheeled away.

If they were to be allies, then he would have to break any misconceptions the girl had for him.

Bitterness wasted lives.

Bitterness turned allies against each other.

Bitterness made one ally favour another, rejecting other teammates.

Squad Three was a perfect example of that.

* * *

Misato picked up the phone. "Captain Katsuragi." She answered with a groan.

The groan vanished as she processed what was being told her.

"Say that again." She ordered with fear in her eyes.

_\_ "Another angel just appeared in Tokyo-3!" _\_ Sergeant Ishida shouted. _\_ "It's much smaller than the last one, but our weapons aren't working!" _\_

"What is it?" Ritsuko asked.

Misato grabbed the carphone and pointed it at her. "Call the hospital." she ordered. "Get Shinji ready for battle."

* * *

Shinji was doing pull-ups in the hospital gymnasium when the soldiers burst in. "Shinji Ikari?" he shouted.

Shinji dropped from the bar. "Yes." He nodded.

The soldier opened a metal briefcase containing the Power Morpher. "There's another angel." He reported. "You will be briefed on the details on the way."

Shinji nodded, walking over and taking his Morpher.

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

* * *

Shinji ran alongside the convoy as they relayed ordered into his helmet, which had somehow been repaired since the last battle.

The current angel was unnamed. It was only seven and a half feet tall, but it had already killed seven civilians before the military ordered the evacuation and took action.

It's AT-Field was impervious to arms-fire, but due to its size the military hadn't attempted to use heavy artillery or military vehicles yet, much less an N2 mine.

The angel was a dull gray with pulsating tumours all over its body. One hand was an unwieldy claw, and the other was a thick stump ended at the elbow, leading to three smooth tentacles. It's sores culminated into one massive green eye that moved wildly, picking out targets and attacking.

It seemed to be able to summon human-shaped drones from the ground to attack, but they were easily mowed down by conventional weapons.

Misato Katsuragi took control of the operation as the Green Ranger jumped over the barricade and landed next to her. "Awaiting orders captain." Shinji reported.

"Shinji…" she said with surprise. She hadn't expected him to get here so fast.

Or to be so willing to fight.

"Am I to assume that my standing orders are to kill angels?" he asked, observing his foes movements. It wasn't doing much, just occasionally leaning back and waving its 'arms' to create more drones.

"Correct." Misato said, matching her subordinate's professionalism.

"The Magi are treating this as an offshoot of the previous angel Sachiel, and not an angel in its own right." Ritsuko told Shinji. "Their DNA is much similar, despite their radically different appearance, so we're calling it a Golem for now. It's been reported to stretch its tentacles to stab those that get too close, and to summon drones we are calling Putties for now. As you can imagine, this time you will have to battle outside the Dragonzord."

"Can you do it?" Misato asked.

Shinji nodded. "Please have the soldiers stop firing at the golem, focusing only on targeting the putties that come close to leaving the combat perimeter." He drew the Dragon Dagger and reversed the grip, then drew his bolter. "Do I have any other weapons?" he asked.

"Not yet." Misato replied. "But you can reconstruct the blaster into another knife."

Shinji glanced at the weapon, and flicked what he initially thought was a hammer, but the blaster straightened and flicked out a short blade, about the same length of the blaster barrel, but now half the length of the current handle.

"You have to push it manually to return it to the blaster form." Ritsuko explained. "Are you ready?"

Shinji pressed the blaster knife back into gun form with his dagger and placed a foot on the sandbag wall, nodding.

Behind the mask, he smiled.

A challenge.

"Go!" Misato shouted.

Shinji pounced, twisting in the air to fire at the golem from above. The energy blasts sparked against an invisible barrier a good few feet from its body, catching the golem's attention as Shinji landed.

The Green Ranger ran to the left, firing as the golem turned and stretched a tentacle at Shinji, retracting it as it missed but stretching another immediately after. They behaved a lot like Sachiel's arm spike, but the arm rotated as the tentacles retreated and lunged, like a three-barrel revolver.

Shinji stopped in his tracks and back-stepped.

The golem's tentacle rushed in front of him.

Shinji jumped against a building as the golem fired again, then jumped from the wall as the next attack launched, missing him completely.

So he can dodge.

Now how to attack?

He'd have to get up close, because the blaster isn't strong enough.

But if he gets too close, the golem could use the tentacles to trap him.

However, what _could_ happen doesn't change what _has_ to happen for the success of the mission.

Shinji dodged a tentacle and stabbed the Dragon Dagger into it.

The golem screamed as blood burst from the wound. It dragged the tentacle away as it 'reloaded', making the gash much greater, to the point that the flesh above the wound tore off as the next tentacle lashed out at the Green Ranger.

Shinji jumped out of the way, landing behind the soldier's line of fire as he observed the golem.

It wasn't regenerating.

Shinji pocketed his blaster and took a machine gun from the table and charged back into battle. He dodged each attack as the golem began to panic.

It wasn't fear.

It wasn't like a rabbit in a trap.

No, not at all.

It was like a fox trapped in a den as a badger dug after it.

Primal fear.

Fear of one predator against a greater predator.

Fear of a wounded rat meeting the dog that took its leg.

_It remembers._

Shinji rammed the Dragon Dagger into the golem's AT-field, cutting a hole for the gun's muzzle to fit through, then pulled the trigger.

Flying lead tore the golem's flesh apart as the AT-field collapsed.

Shinji fell to his feet, then rammed the Dagger into the golem's throat and slashed up through its eye. The green armour was soaked in blood as a small, fist-sized orb showed inside its gullet.

No time to think, Shinji dropped the gun and snatched it from the pulsating gray flesh.

It broke into shards in his hand.

The golem fell to its stump-like knees.

Dead.

Shinji backed off from the corpse as the soldiers finished off the remaining putties.

He turned around and walked back to Misato and Ritsuko.

"That wasn't the suit." Misato said told her friend. "The suit doesn't teach you to fight like that."

"That would be the ten years of solid combat training." Ritsuko told her as Shinji arrived. "That boy is a living weapon, even outside the suit."

Misato held her tongue as the Green Ranger strode towards them.

* * *

As she drove Shinji to his living quarters, Misato had to admit, Ritsuko was right.

This wasn't a teenage boy sitting next to her.

Even when off duty, he was constantly alert and focused.

Always watching. Always thinking.

"Captain Katsuragi?" he asked.

"I'm off duty right now." Misato laughed, trying to break the ice. "Call me Misato."

Shinji nodded. "Misato. Am I going to be living with my father?"

She thought about it. "No." she replied. "He lives inside the Geofront, but he wants you to attend school like a normal student, but that would be impossible if you also lived that deep inside the base."

"I see." Shinji nodded.

Misato raised an eyebrow. "Don't you find a problem with that?" she asked.

"I've never lived on my own, but I can take care of myself." Shinji told her. "Anywhere is fine."

Misato growled, then spun the car around.

Shinji grabbed the handle of the car door. "What're you doing?" he shouted.

Misato ignored him, grabbing a phone and hitting a speed dial. "Belay the shipment of Shinji Ikari's luggage." She ordered. "Transport it to my address."

"What?" Shinji shouted. "Why?"

"Just do it!" Misato shouted into the phone. "I'll get the permission later!" she hung up, then glared at Shinji. "You're living with me from now on."

* * *

"Well, we'll have to have a party tonight!" Misato declared after getting off the phone with Fuyutsuki.

"What for?" Shinji asked her.

"A welcoming party for my new roommate, of course!" she winked, swerving into a convenience store's car park.

Shinji sighed and undid his seatbelt.

He had a feeling that he would have to vet Misato's party food.

* * *

"I hope you don't mind if we make a little stop along the way." Misato asked her companion.

Shinji as he looked through the case in dismay at what Misato snuck through his filter. "Where?" he asked as Misato pulled up against the hill.

"Someplace really cool." She said, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car.

Shinji placed the shopping bag by his feet and followed her. She'd brought him to a lookout point where he could see the sunset over the city.

Shinji liked sunsets.

It's when the light turns to darkness.

Just enough light to see. Plenty of shadows to use. And this late, people get sloppy.

Sunset is when Shinji felt at ease.

"It's time." Misato told him, looking at her watch.

A siren rang through the city.

Sections of floor opened up.

Towers ascended from the ground.

Shinji was amazed.

He'd briefly studied architecture, it terms of how to navigate, scale and destroy buildings.

Things this size shouldn't be moved this easily.

Shinji thought those towers at the top of the Geofront were… he had no idea what he thought they were for.

But moving buildings this easily was impossible.

Skyscrapers need foundations just to not collapse on themselves.

This display was an insult to gravity itself.

It was amazing.

"This city is a fortress," Misato told him. "Designed to protect against the angels. This is New Tokyo-3." She turned to him with a smile. "This is our city. It's the city you helped to protect."

Shinji looked over the city.

His city.

With his unit from home in these Ranger suits, he could take it in a day.

He wouldn't be able to use it though.

The entire thought was ridiculous.

But it was an interesting thought.

* * *

"Truth is, I just recently moved into this city myself." Misato told Shinji as she opened the door of her apartment. "Come on in." she told him as he hesitated.

He nodded, silently walking in.

She sighed. "Shinji, this is YOUR home now." She told him. "You're supposed to say something."

Shinji looked up at her. "Uh… I'm home."

She smiled.

He smiled sheepishly back.

"Welcome home." She said, closing the door behind her.

"As you can see, the place is a little bit messy." Misato apologised as she lead the way. "But make yourself comfortable."

Shinji stared in horror. "You call this… a _little bit_ messy?" he scraped a clear space for the bag of shopping. "Misato, I've been beaten for not making my bed in a morning. This is not messy."

She flinched. "What?" she asked shakily, turning around. "Just where did you grow up? The workhouse?"

"We were trained well." Shinji told her, reaching for a loose bin bag. "Want to give me a hand?" he asked her with a smile. "_Roommate?_"

While she was happy that the kid was acting more like a human now that he was warming up to her, it didn't change the fact that he was asking for a punch.

* * *

As the room was progressively cleared, Shinji began to learn more of Misato's life without her saying a word.

The fridge was filled with beer, ice and snacks, but very few fresh ingredients.

Her clothes and underwear were strewn across the apartment, one thong actually being found under a cushion that Misato snatched from Shinji with a laugh.

There was all kinds of garbage that didn't find its way to the bin, with several tied up bin liners filled with trash already against the wall.

But Shinji couldn't find any trace of any contraceptives.

She drinks, she's slobby, has little decency when off duty, but she's not sexually active.

For a woman of her appearance, that was surprising to Shinji. Not even any trace of one-night stands.

Of course, the real surprise was the penguin in the three foot tall sauna built into the wall.

That said, when Shinji considered asking Misato why there was a penguin walking towards the fridge with a towel around its neck, he just shrugged. Why not?

After all, in the past twenty-four hours he had seen a colossal angel of destruction, had fought in a massive robot like the protagonist in some bizarre Saturday-morning cartoon and had gone hand-to-hand with a mutated abomination.

A pet penguin was a nice return to sanity at this point.

* * *

"So, isn't this nice?" Misato asked as Shinji once the room was something resembling tidy. "Having dinner with someone else?"

Shinji was wolfing down the microwavable meal, but gave her a quick thumb up to show he agreed.

"Starting today, this is your home." Misato told him told him with a wink. "So you can take advantage of everything here."

Thumb up.

"Man, everything with you is Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes!" she complained. "It's so depressing! You're a boy, aren't you!" she shouted, pushing his head down, making him choke on his noodles. "Start acting like a man!"

Shinji thumped his chest, pushing her hand off his head as he coughed up the food lodged in his throat. "I don't think that would be appropriate, Captain Katsuragi."

She blinked, then sat back in her chair laughing. "Go take a bath kid." She wheezed, whipping a tear from her eye as she grinned. "Make sure to scrub that filthy mind of yours!"

* * *

Shinji couldn't remember the last time he had a bath inside a bathtub.

He remembered that time he, John and Kelly had found that hotspring in the mountains on an orienteering mission. After years of cold showers, that felt so good.

John and Kelly hadn't been Japanese. There were a lot of children from the UK, Russia and Canada whose parents died in Second Impact that trained with Shinji.

Although, they couldn't have trained all the orphans like that. Funding would have been impossible, and even then, Shinji wouldn't have gotten in.

No, Kelly was taken from the streets during a police raid where one of the older kids ratted them out after getting captured. Shinji was surprised to hear about that, but Kelly had been four at the time, so of course the police would catch her.

John never wanted to talk about his past. Not many of the kids from the group did. He and John were probably the only ones who knew about Kelly, after all.

If it hadn't been for that Ryoji, Kelly would probably still be on the streets. He'd never say it to her, but he was glad she was betrayed. Because of that, Shinji got to know Kelly.

That said, if he ever met him, Shinji would probably make him suffer for betraying the team.

You don't betray the team.

Especially your unit.

Shinji shook his head.

People hadn't been trained like him and Kelly. Kelly even admitted that before she was brought to the school, she might've even done the same thing.

People were weak.

Spartans were not.

Spartans didn't fail.

"I won't fail." Shinji told himself, getting out of the bath. "That would be letting the team down."

He wouldn't betray the team.

His old one or his new one.

He won't be like Ryoji Kaji.

* * *

"So, how was Rei today?"

Gendo glanced away from the metal, blue triceratops to see Ritsuko standing behind him. "You went to the hospital today, did you not?" she asked him.

Gendo looked back to the machine. "She'll be ready to battle in twenty days." He told her. "That gives us plenty of time to repair the Triceratops."

"It would have been half that if your son hadn't passed out." Ritsuko sighed. "It must be hard on those children."

"There is no one else who the Ranger Coins will accept." Gendo said. "As long as they survive, that is what I will have them do."

"With no regard for what they want?" she asked him.

"They want it." Gendo said. "Otherwise, the coins wouldn't accept them."

* * *

Shinji crept out of the window in the dead of night, zipping up his jacket against the night sky.

He was starting school tomorrow.

He'd never been to civilian school before, but according to Misato, making friends were important.

Shinji wasn't that good at making friends, but he made sure to get on with everyone on the team. He was usually grouped with Kelly and John, but Chief Mendez liked to mix things up once in a while.

That orienteering expedition where they all had only a portion of the map for example. Shinji still couldn't believe John got promoted for leading an attack against the men sent to pick them up, though they were in the wrong for not identifying themselves.

They certainly didn't come across as friendly.

Which reminded him.

He walked back into the room and took out a marker pen and wrote a message for Misato in case she checked up on him.

_Gone for a run, I'll come back when I'm tired. Took my communicator if you need me._

Shinji looked at the device on his wrist. It was a lot like an oversized watch, but it was a direct secure line of communication with whoever was on his network, which currently included Misato and NERV HQ.

He felt his Power Morpher attached to his belt under his jacket. He'd been ordered to keep that with him at all times too, but it wasn't exactly subtle, so Shinji questioned just how secretive he was supposed to be about his identity as a soldier amongst the civilians.

He certainly hadn't been ordered to hide his status, so why should he?

Shinji walked back to the window.

He definitely wasn't going to brag about it.

That would be foolish.

He jumped over the ledge and slid ten storeys down the drainpipe before jumping off the building wall, twisting in the air to grab the ledge of the next building's rooftop.

He looked across the city skyline.

In his room was another ceiling he didn't know.

In this city, nothing was familiar.

He'd probably spend the next week scouting this city before that fact changed.

* * *

"Shinji, I'm coming in."

Misato opened the door to see the window open and the empty bed.

The towel from her hands fell to the ground.

She turned the light on.

Shinji wasn't there.

She sighed.

Not that she could blame hi-

_Gone for a run, I'll come back when I'm tired. Took my communicator if you need me._

"Oh." Misato said, suddenly feeling somewhat foolish.

She smirked.

He left his marker pen on the floor.

Time to write him a reply.

* * *

Shinji ran through the alley- tic-tacking up the walls on either side until he could grab the iron staircase of the fire escape. He span himself up, then silently ran up until he found an open window in the hospital.

He pushed himself over the edge and shimmied himself across the narrow ledge until he could climb through it.

It was dark inside, so he pulled up his dark-blue hood and slunk silently past the sleeping inpatients.

* * *

Misato lay on her futon, checking the clock.

Midnight, and he still wasn't back yet.

Her phone rang.

Shinji.

She twisted over and grabbed it. "You had me worried Shinji." She told him.

_\_ "Did you read my note?" _\_ he asked her.

She grabbed her forehead. "Yeah, I did, but still-"

_\_ "Is the other Ranger in NERV a blue-haired girl?" _\_ Shinji asked, interrupting her. _\_ "Around fourteen, maybe fifteen years old, with recent injuries?" _\_

"Yeah, Rei Ayanami." Misato replied. "Why are you-"

_\_ "Written as 'Twill Wave', as in the old Fubuki class destroyer ship?" _\_

Misato growled. "Yeah, but-"

He hung up.

Misato almost threw the phone across the room, but Shinji clearly wasn't aware of a function called Call Return.

* * *

Room seven-zero-four.

Shinji shut down the computer at the reception desk as his wrist beeped a little jingle.

He pushed the 'Answer' button and moved silently, covering his wrist to hide the sound as he moved quickly to avoid the guards.

Ten seconds later, he hissed into it. "_What?_"

_\_ "Where are you?" _\_

"_I'm breaking into a hospital to talk to Rei Ayanami."_ Shinji told her. _"Since I'm in the Inpatient wing outside of visiting hours, I'd prefer not to get caught."_

Misato took a moment to process this.

_\_ _"What?" __\_

"_She's unhappy with me and I want to know why."_ Shinji breathed into his wrist. _"I'll call you afterwards, either from the communicator or from the police station, and I'm sure you know which one you'd rather be called from."_

Shinji hung up, grabbing his forehead.

He wasn't normally that aggressive outside of battle.

He rarely got that annoyed by anything not concerning his father either.

That said, it terrified him when his communicator almost gave his position away like that.

His heart was still racing- he hadn't had to deal with a snag like that for months.

If it wasn't for the kid playing on his game boy in the room opposite him, Shinji would have had to deal with a guard that knew about his presence.

Although, Shinji was surprised.

Guards weren't supposed to give up that easily.

Mendez's wardens would have known instantly that the sound came from the desk, not from the kid's game.

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best indeed.

Now to find Rei.

Shinji stepped out into a black palm that slammed him to the ground.

He was helpless against this strength, and as his assailant crept closer, Shinji could see why.

"Well well." The Black Ranger chuckled. "Aren't you a little young to be sneaking into girl's bedrooms in the middle of the night?"

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

CLIFFHANGER!

Nah, not really, but I hope I've better explained Shinji's character and role here.

And now would be a good time to point out that this isn't exactly a Power Ranger/Evangelion crossover.

It's an Evangelion/Halo crossover with a helluva lot of Power Ranger motifs involved.


	3. The Black Ranger

And now I'm going to cheat. But hey, what would Neon Genesis Evangelion if everything didn't exist to screw Shinji over.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**September 2004**_

"_Line up into three rows in height order, tallest at the back, shortest at the front, then in numerical order right to left for the front two rows. Back row, assort yourself in reverse numerical order." Chief Mendez told the students. "Now!"_

_Shinji checked his number, then jogged to a place in the front row, then checked the numbers of those around him._

_Number 018, and number 037._

_Shinji was number 108._

_He ran to the right-most edge of the row and stood in line, then moved a little to the right to make room for number 141._

"_SILENCE! Eyes front!" Chief Mendez barked. All obeyed._

_He walked along the rows of children, numbering each child on the front row__, Shinji being in the first set.  
_

"_This unit shall be your team." Mendez announced. "You will rely on each other. You will fight with each other. You will think with each other. You do not achieve anything without your Unit!"_

_Shinji looked behind him at his new allies. There was a blonde boy a little taller than him, number 117, and a brunette who was a full head above Shinji, number 087._

_Shinji was in Unit 01._

* * *

_**2015**_

"Ikari." Fuyutsuki told the Commander as he hung up the phone. "Your son has just been arrested by the police for breaking and entering."

Gendo glanced behind him and raised an eyebrow at the vice-commander, then turned back to the Dragonzord.

"Let him spend the night in a cell." Gendo decided. "Tell him I'm very disappointed."

Fuyutsuki glared. "Are you sure that this is the best way to discipline a-"

"You misunderstand." Gendo told him, cutting him off. "The boy was not trained for ten and a half years just so he could be caught first time he tries to break into something on his own."

"Ikari, he was ambushed by the Black Ranger." The vice-commander told him.

Gendo turned towards the door. "That makes the boy even more of a failure."

* * *

Shinji opened his eyes.

Morning sunlight shone through the narrow barred window of the cell.

So, they let him spend the night.

What to do now?

Shinji supposed he could escape, but since he wasn't collected, which would be easy even for Misato, then his orders were either to wait until the police let him go, or he was expected to break out.

It would be easy even without his Power Morpher.

Shinji had kept hold of that. His standing orders were to keep that on him at all time, and he was damn well going to follow his orders. Eventually the police had decided to let him keep it, after the first three officers were incapacitated.

It wasn't like the boy was going to escape.

However, Shinji was also ordered to be at school in two hours, so if he wasn't released soon, Shinji would have to assume that he was expected to escape on his own.

Deciding it was best to scope out his situation a little further, Shinji walked over to the bars and looked at the desk.

There was a police officer there eating a cheese toastie. Not really paying attention to his surroundings, but hey – it was just a tiny overnight cell area, not full blown prison.

The Spartan's eyes darted around. The keys weren't on the guard's belt.

Nor were they on his desk.

Nor were they on a hook by the wall.

"Excuse me." Shinji called out. "Where are the keys?"

The guard glanced at the desk drawer for half a second.

"Nice try kid." The officer chuckled. "Your ninja mind tricks won't work on me."

So the keys were in a closed, probably locked drawer by the guard's knee. Probably in a tin box with the petty change too.

He wasn't going to get his hands on them anytime soon, but no matter.

There were other ways of escape.

"Pssst."

Shinji glanced at the blonde man in the opposite cell. Asian, so the hair was dyed.

He wasn't there when Shinji went to sleep.

Actually, how did Shinji not notice him before now?

"_You're bustin' outta here, right?"_ The blonde asked. "_Can a brother come with you?"_

Shinji ignored the man. "You're not black." He told him, analysing his cell. "You're not a brother."

"Hey, come on man!" the man whined. "We're both Japanese, ain't we?"

"Your cell is unlocked." Shinji pointed out, turning to the wall and climbing on the bunk. "Why don't you let _me_ out?"

CLICK

Shinji twisted around to see the man squatting on the floor as he lit a cigarette. "Whoops." The blonde lied. "That didn't go as planned."

So, this man came into the cell on his own violation, and wants Shinji to prove himself by breaking them both out.

No, he wants to know what Shinji would do next.

Now, is this man an ally? An enemy? A superior officer? A civilian? A spy?

A person.

Don't assume. Use deduction.

Deduct.

Remove the unknowns, analyse the knowns.

He could have left on his own.

He didn't. He wants Shinji to act.

He's making Shinji's only option to act.

He's ordering Shinji to escape.

The logic was good enough for Shinji, because it meant one thing - he had orders.

He had an objective to achieve.

The boy wasn't cuffed anymore, since he was a minor, which actually makes life harder for the current moment.

Well, that's fine, there was still plenty of options.

Shinji stepped to the back of the cell, pressed his feet against the wall, and jumped for the top bars of the door. Landing perfectly, he pulled himself up horizontally, then let his fingers slip.

His shoulder crunched against the ground.

"AAAAARRRGH!" he shouted, rolling over to take the pressure off his shoulder.

"Idiot!" The guard shouted, reaching down to get the keys to check up on him. "What're you playing at?" he shouted, fumbling into the cell as Shinji writhed in pain. "You didn't even try asking for the toilet or anything and you do this?"

Shinji span on the floor, sweeping the guard's feet from under him as he stood up and placed a foot on the officer's chest, pressing him down as he confiscated the gun. Shinji loaded a bullet into the chamber, pointing it at the officer's head as he removed the safety.

"Whoa there!" the blonde shouted, getting to his feet. "No-one needs to-"

BLAM

The lock on the blonde's cell door exploded, the force of the bullet pushing the door open.

Shinji loaded the next shot and aimed it for the officer's head. "Get your stuff and mine." Shinji told the blonde, glaring at the officer with the eyes of someone who would pull the trigger without hesitation but would prefer not to.

"Alright then." The blonde said, walking out the cell and around the corner. "Here ya go."

Shinji turned to the man to grab a clear plastic bag with his shoes, communicator and jacket. He quickly turned back to the prison guard.

"Send the bill to Gendo Ikari at NERV, with a note telling him not to waste taxpayer's money on these tests." Shinji warned the guard before jabbing his thumb in a pressure point on his throat, knocking him out.

* * *

"Man, that was pretty intense." The blonde told Shinji once they were outside. "Come on, I've got a ride."

Shinji pointed the gun at the man's chest, keeping it close to his own to prevent drawing attention to it. "Identify yourself." He ordered.

"Hey, chill." The blond chuckled. "Name's Eikichi Takenaka." He said. "I was sent to pick you up once you escaped."

"NERV ID card." Shinji demanded. He'd grown sloppy outside of the Team. Even now he was being overly aggressive.

Thankfully, once the blonde pulled out the red card, Shinji nodded and shoved the gun down his trousers, safety on.

"Still, that was some pretty hardcore shit back in there." Takenaka commented out as he put the card back in his wallet. "Thought you were supposed to be a ranger, not Spike Spiegel."

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Eh, some anime from just before Second Impact." Takenaka sighed. "Whole thing stopped me from getting it on tape. Got a buddy with a bootleg copy if you're interested. How's your shoulder by the way?"

"I'm fine." Shinji told him. "May I borrow your bike?" he asked. "Only I need to get ready for school."

The Blonde grinned. "Whatcha think I'm here for?"

* * *

"Yo!" Takenaka shouted as Shinji marched to his room to get changed. "Hey, Misato?"

"What?" she asked, glaring at Shinji as he walked past her.

"Hey, never took you for a morning drinker." Takenaka laughed, grabbing a can from the table and opening it. "So, how's my favourite captain?"

"Did you _have_ to take him to the police?" Misato asked him. "Really?"

"I was just gonna take him bungee jumping off a bridge, but Commander's orders." Takenaka shrugged, sipping his beer. "But hey, the kid put up a good fight."

Misato sighed. "Just don't treat him like one of your kids." She warned the man. "The boy's a child soldier, not a teenager."

"Kinda got that from his great escape." Takenaka mumbled, looking away as Misato spat booze into his face.

"WHAT?" she shouted. "You were sent to pick him up!"

"I wanted to see what he'd do!" he protested. "Can't blame me for being interested."

"What if he got hurt?" Misato shouted.

"Relax!" Takenaka laughed, shaking his hand nonchalantly. "It's not as if anyone got killed-"

"HE HURT SOMEONE?" She shouted, before leaning back in her chair. "Shit, just what happened in there?"

"Captain Katsuragi?" Shinji asked as he walked out of his room. "Could you return this to the police on your way to NERV?"

He placed the gun on the dining table.

Silence fell as he walked out the apartment.

"Yeah…" Takenaka stood up, chugging the rest of the can before Misato's shock turned into outrage. "I'd best take him to school. Later!"

* * *

"MORNING EVERYONE!" Takenaka shouted as he entered the classroom with Shinji. "Guess what we've got!"

"Sensei!" one girl shouted. "Did you see that new Ranger yesterday?"

"Who, the green one?" Takenaka asked. "Well, yeah, but I like the blue one better." He said. "And the Black one's a total badass, but this one shows promise."

"Sensei, he _was_ fighting some kinda mutant alien!" a brown haired young man with glasses shouted. "The other two rangers only fought terrorists and criminals!"

"Hey, you never know!" Takenaka laughed. "The green one _might_ be an alien too!"

He grinned at Shinji as the rest of the class shouted their disagreements at him. "Alright, this is the new kid." Takenaka shouted. "He just got here, like the Green Ranger, so that immediately makes him suspicious." He gave Shinji a push. "Go on, tell 'em about yourself."

Shinji tried not to groan at his superior officer's… childlike behaviour. "My name is Shinji Ikari." He stated. "My father works for NERV, and I moved here to be closer to him." he bowed, as per Japanese tradition. "I look forward to learning with you all."

* * *

Shinji was bored, which was unusual for him.

The classes were either too easy for him, such as mathematics, science or geography, or were completely foreign concepts, often in the same circumstance.

Why did he even need to find X in the first place? What purpose does it achieve?

Takenaka's social studies class was, however, educational. The teacher's unprofessional antics which originally irked Shinji, appeared to have a psychological effect on the students. While they froze up and created barriers between themselves and the other teachers, Takenaka made them open up and act like children.

This helped Shinji evaluate his classmates, but it taught him a greater fact.

Make them laugh, and they will not be afraid.

Unfortunately, Shinji's poor attempt at humour seemed to make himself come across as something called a 'weirdo', even provoking one student to push Shinji's head against the desk as everyone walked away.

That was when Shinji made his second mistake.

He stood up and turned around.

"Apologise."

Had Takenaka been in the classroom at the time, he would have intervened, and everyone would have laughed.

Unfortunately, Yahiko was a boxer.

The new kid was pretty tall, and pretty muscular, but so was Yahiko. He could take this kid.

After that incident, Shinji Ikari lost all contact with the rest of the student body.

* * *

"Alright, from now on, no fighting with the other students." Takenaka told Shinji as they rode his motorcycle to NERV. "Even if it ruins your pride to let some weaker guy push you around, guys like us have to suck it up."

"You mean Rangers?" Shinji asked.

"Worked that one out already, huh?" Takenaka laughed. "Well, no. I mean human weapons."

Shinji's eyebrows rose. "You're trained too?" he asked.

"Not exactly." Takenaka admitted sheepishly, holding an arm out as they sped down the street.

He smashed right through a wooden telephone pole.

"I'm talking about incredibly tough bastards." Takenaka explained, bringing his arm back. "You should see me inside the suit."

Shinji nodded. "How long have you been a Ranger?" he asked.

"Back in '05." Takenaka replied. "Me and my buddy broke into NERV, and I stole one of the six Morphers." He grinned. "Ya know, I was the one who set the activation code. 'It's Morphin' Time', that was all me kid."

"They let you?" Shinji asked, surprised.

"Nah, they couldn't figure out how to change it." Takenaka laughed. "Didn't know it'd work, but it did."

Shinji nodded. "So if adults can us the Morphers, why me and Rei?"

Takenaka's grin faded into a distant gaze. "Only ones the coins'll accept are kids." He said. "Not just any kid either: has to be one that wants the future."

"The future?" Shinji asked.

"Ya know, tomorrow, the world and all that." Takenaka explained. "Back then, all I wanted was to prove I was the baddest mofo out there. And I still am." He grinned for a second. "Thing is, I'm getting kinda old for it now. It won't even let me use the Mastodon anymore, so once you kids get better than me outside the Zords, I'm getting replaced by the next sucker."

Retirement.

Like Fhajad-084 and René-005.

When you want to fight but never will again.

For Shinji, that would be hell.

"I'm sorry." Shinji told his teacher with pity.

Takenaka remained silent as he turned the corner.

For a second Shinji thought the conversation was over.

"What're _you_ sorry for?" Takenaka asked after a moment. "You're the one who has to fight those things without me."

Thing was, Shinji wasn't Takenaka.

He was a Spartan.

He _lived_ for the battlefield.

He couldn't imagine life without it.

* * *

Life without the battlefield was dull for Shinji.

Everyone avoided him at school, he wasn't learning anything in class.

In fact, over half the school had left due to the frequent golem attacks.

Three of the year-two classes joined into one.

Takenaka occasionally joined Shinji in his battles, using an elaborate black axe that, when held in a reversed, acted as a Close Quarters Combat pump-action shotgun. His fighting was wild and unrefined, but Shinji could tell that he was powerful and very experienced in brawling.

It was odd to be perceived as a hero for his strength when he was the Green Ranger, yet avoided for the same reason as Shinji Ikari.

Of course, thanks to Takenaka making a big show of it earlier, no one in the class considered the possibility of Shinji being one of the Rangers, or at least, didn't bring it up when he was anywhere nearby.

Of course, when he wasn't at school, fighting golems, or with Misato at the apartment, he was at NERV HQ, learning how to use the Dragonzord properly.

The key was in the Dragon Dagger. By playing various melodies with it, Shinji could control the Dragonzord outside of the cockpit, but he still had to be inside it in order to use any of its special attacks.

At least its agility was starting to improve, slowly. Even if Shinji still hadn't reached the level he somehow reached during the battle with the last angel.

* * *

Another week later, School was beginning to get to him.

He'd always been close to others. It felt wrong to be isolated like this when he was surrounded by people.

Oh, he'd spent weeks on his own during training, but he'd never been alone while surrounded by people.

It was a very conflicting feeling.

Shinji didn't like it.

He was comfortable with yes/no situations. With knowing what to do and dedicating himself to a task.

A heart that didn't agree with his head only lead to problems.

He thought it would improve when Rei returned from the hospital, still covered in bandages, but she also avoided him.

Actually, she avoided everyone.

And everyone avoided her, except Takenaka, who absolutely adored her, to the point of embracing her tightly and rubbing his cheek into hers violently with an idiotic grin on his face when she first returned, only stopping once the six boys holding him back eventually turned to Shinji for help.

Shinji had hoped for some recognition there, but the boys merely mumbled some thanks and wandered back to their seats as Takenaka twisted his neck back into position. That man seemed almost immortal.

But other than him, Shinji had no other human contact within the school walls.

So he was surprised when someone tapped him on the shoulder one Tuesday lunchtime.

Holding himself back, he turned to see a muscular, tanned boy in a black shellsuit.

"Let's go outside." The boy told Shinji

* * *

Shinji braced his foot behind him as a fist connected with his face, but he still went to the ground.

"Sorry stranger." Toji told him, rubbing his bloody knuckle and sprained wrist. "But after whatcha did to my sister, I've gotta kick your ass, even if you're some kinda badass."

Shinji wiped his bloody nose. So, apparently his identity was known, or at least suspected.

And this guy doesn't care. And he managed to deck Shinji.

"Sorry." Aida told Shinji, sneaking towards him. "But his sister was injured by an attack that the Green Ranger dodged a couple a weeks back." He stood up. "Well, now that that's over with-"

"What makes you think I'm the Green Ranger?" Shinji asked, getting to his feet.

"The damn belt buckle is a bit of a giveaway." Toji snapped, turning away as Aida led him back towards the school building.

Shinji almost looked down. How the hell had he missed that?

This damn place was getting to him.

"So, you'd rather that I got hit instead?" Shinji asked him. "So the golem would've been free to _kill_ your sister?"

Toji stopped.

He turned back to Shinji as an embodiment of rage, pushing past his friend to grab the soldier who had been ordered not to fight back.

"You think you're hot shit don'tcha?" Toji snarled, punching him again. "WELL HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE PICKED ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE?" he shouted. "That is, unless you're so much of a coward that you'll put on your precious suit!"

Shinji laughed.

He couldn't help himself.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" Toji roared, grabbing Shinji by the collar. "HUH?"

"I have standing orders not to harm civilians." Shinji told him, pushing Toji's forearm back as he turned to walk away. "Please don't try to provoke me."

Shinji cursed himself as Aida held Toji back.

He was supposed to be making friends, not enemies.

Well, that's fine. Misato had pretty much abandoned those orders for now at any rate.

Shinji ran up the wall and clambered back through the classroom window before Toji could attack again.

He turned to see who opened the window as he stepped onto a desk.

Rei.

The room turned silent as they stared coolly at each other.

Shinji heard his communicator.

"There's been an emergency call." Rei explained, standing up and walking from her seat. "I'll go on ahead."

She ran for the door as the siren sounded.

Shinji went back outside the window and slid down the drainpipe.

* * *

Shinji wasn't sure when he decided to morph, but soon enough, the Green Ranger was running alongside the Blue and Black Rangers, past the cheering crowds as they accelerated to the NERV base.

It was another angel.

Shinji could feel it.

He could taste the upcoming battle.

* * *

The enemy was a massive, purple serpent.

It had some freakish eye-like markings on its head, but other than that, it just floated through the city.

"Unfortunately, you'll be doing this alone again." Misato briefed Shinji. "As you know, Rei's still not battle ready with her injury's, and Eikichi cannot pilot the Mastodon anymore."

"Don't worry Kiddo." The Black Ranger told the green, slapping a hand on his shoulder. "I've still got a trick up my sleeve."

"A trick?" Shinji asked as the Takenaka gave him a thumb up.

"We're going to do _that._"

* * *

The Zords were designed to combine with one another.

It was a ludicrous concept, yet it worked.

It shouldn't, but it does.

The Mastodon form the arms, the Triceratops and one of America's two Zords form each leg, and either Shinji's Dragonzord or Germany's Tyrannosaurus can form the body.

Of course, that put Shinji in a direct rivalry with the Red Ranger.

Another problem with his team.

Takenaka is wild and handicapped.

Rei is handicapped and unknown, possibly antagonistic.

Shinji hoped the American at least would be professional.

* * *

Takenaka couldn't enter the combined Zord with Shinji, but he initiated the combination sequence.

The Dragonzord's hands rolled into the massive shoulder plates as the chest plate was removed from the machine. The shoulder pads hinged around and connected into place on the Zord's chest.

If Shinji didn't know better, he'd say that inside the Zord was a mass of black- no machinery at all. He knew how machines were supposed to work, but these Zords defied all conventional explaination.

The Mastodon's head was removed, and the body unfolded to form a strong set of arms that, unlike the Dragonzord's stumpy arms, were very responsive to Shinji's commands, and could use them.

Once inside, Shinji brought the arms into a guard position and made some experimental jabs and a cross.

It was good. Slightly clunky, but leagues ahead of his performance with the Dragonzord's normal limbs.

Obviously, there was the issue of power here. In this form, Shinji had a time limit on his Zords power consumption, but now he was capable not only of something resembling decent melee combat, but also of the superior defences this new machine offered him.

He looked forward to getting his legs and using the Dragonzord's Battle Mode to its full power.

But, for now, he could just beat the angels to death.

* * *

He rose through the ground to challenge the angel, hiding behind his shield and firing blast after blast of energy at the angel. He relied on Misato's warnings to drop the shield and grab the angel by the glowing laser tentacles.

Something he'd been thinking about lately- the Power Coins seem to let humans create AT-fields like angels do, at least within the borderline of the suit.

So, in theory, he could use this AT-field to defend the Zord.

In fact, this seemed to be the Zord's purpose.

Still, that didn't mean Shinji didn't have to deal with Takenaka screaming in his ear about not hurting his baby.

However, the angel managed to pull him over on his front, but Shinji vaulted onto his hands, vaulting over to smash his drill-like tail into the angel.

It rolled to the side and charged him, launching him back through the city.

Shinji gripped the angel by the whips is it charged again. The Dragonzord's feet pushed into the mountainside as it began to be overpowered.

_\_ "Shinji, watch out! Civilians!"_\_ Misato yelled in his ear.

_\_ "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOIN' THERE?" _\_ Takenaka shouted.

Toji's and Aida's faces appeared on the screen.

Shinji did a sweep of the area.

It was a Snag.

* * *

Spartans had been trained for plans going wrong.

Shinji accounted for that.

After all, it was an old military saying that no plan survives contact with the enemy.

He liked it when things didn't go exactly to plan.

Kept life interesting.

Snags were different.

Snags were something that they could never have been trained for, something they never saw coming, something so out of the realms of possibility, that he never considered it for a second.

Civilians were meant to be inside the shelter.

_Especially_ priority cases like schoolchildren.

Why the hell were these guys not?

"What're my orders?" Shinji asked. "CIVILIAN LIVES OR ANGEL?"

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

You know, I'm gonna leave it here for now, because I've established that the cockpit is strictly Rangers only, and they don't have another choice.

That, and I'm tired and I don't know how I'm gonna answer this right now.

Varanus said that it's pretty depressing to read Shinji even more incapable of avoiding the mistakes he made in canon. Instead of just standing there on the tracks, he's sprinting head first towards the train.

Thing is, Shinji's a soldier with the body of an Olympic Athlete. He runs pretty fast. He's not supposed to make this decision for a good dozen episodes.

He also happens to be pretty strong. Just saying.


	4. Useless Spartan

Alright everyone's, laptop's down, but getting the replacement part soon, it's in the mail. Still typing at a much slower pace in the family PC, and I have buffer for my bestest buddy Varanus to beta. This guy even tracked down a site that (badly) transcribed the Eva episodes, so I can still write while unable to load videos! Give him a big hand!

WWDW, it's the first season costumes.

Aoirann, thanks for reminding me. Bulk and Skull shall make their appearence in their own way.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**September 2004**_

"_This is a game we call 'Ring The Bell'." Chief Mendez told the cadets in the playground. "Your mission is simple. There are many routes to the bell, and you can take any one you like. You win when each member of your unit rings the bell. Are there any questions?"_

_Shinji looked at the wooden obstacle course. Many of the routes were impossible for a single child._

_So after all the exercise of their body and endurance, now they're going to exercise their teamwork?_

_The boy behind Shinji raised his hand._

"_117." Chief Mendez noted. "What is it?"_

_The boy lowered his hand. "Sir, what do we win?"_

_Shinji turned to look at the boy as the Chief smirked at the child's gall. "An excellent question cadet. You win dinner. Sergeant Manaka?"_

_A short-haired Japanese man saluted. "Sir. On the menu tonight is roast beef, gravy, Yorkshire puddings, mashed potatoes and Swedes, with broccoli and carrots. For desert there is raspberry-ripple ice-cream."_

_Shinji turned to the sergeant in shock- he'd never had such a feast since his birthday._

_In fact, as most of these children had been born just before or just after second impact, most had only _heard_ of meat, much less tasted it._

"_That sounds delicious." Chief Mendez noted, before turning to the children. "Of course, for there to be winners, there must also be losers. The last Unit to ring the bell will have water and crackers for their supper."_

_Shinji looked at his Unit. These two looked strong. They'd look after him._

_Of course, he wouldn't let them down either._

"_On my mark!" Chief Mendez shouted. "Get set… GO!"_

* * *

_Shinji was pushed over by a boy in Unit 02 and fell behind the crowd._

_The girl, 087, turned around to help him up. "Are you okay?" she asked._

"_Yeah…" Shinji said, wiping mud from his face. "Come on, let's go!"_

_RING_

_Shinji and the girl looked up to see their teammate, 117, ringing the bell, pushing all the other kids away._

"_I did it!" he shouted, jumping off the climbing frame and running to Chief Mendez with a huge grin on his face. "I won!"_

_Mendez just nodded, making a mark on his clip board._

"_Let's hurry." The girl told Shinji._

* * *

_087 was fast for her age, but she didn't let Shinji get behind her._

_It was almost like she refused to abandon him, even though she could have done it much better on her own._

_She and Shinji were the last two cadets to ring the bell._

* * *

"_Congratulations cadets." Mendez told them all. "You've earned your meal. Everyone except Unit 01, follow Sergeant Manaka to the mess hall."_

"_WHAT?" the blonde-haired 117 shouted. "But I won!"_

_Mendez glared at him._

"_You were __**first.**__" The Chief told the boy. "Your team __**lost.**__ Personal victory is meaningless if you leave your team behind."_

_Shinji would have cried._

_He wanted to cry._

_But he was too tired._

_117 glared at Shinji, blaming him for his loss._

_Shinji just drank the water in silence, munching on the crackers that only made him hungrier._

* * *

_**2015**_

"Killing the angel is our top priority!" Ritsuko barked at Misato.

"Those kids do not need to die!" Misato shouted. "The Dragonzord shifts its footing at all and they'll either be crushed or torn apart by the damned angel!"

"And what about all those people inside the shelters?" Ritsuko shouted back. "Do you want them to die either?"

"Man, you military types…" The Black Ranger sighed, taking the comm. link. "You always think in Yes or No, you never compromise."

"WHAT?"

"Listen Shinji." Takenaka told the Green Ranger. "You've got two options in front of you. As a soldier, you let your classmates die and stop the angel. As a human being, you let the kids escape, get your ass kicked by the angel, _maybe_ hurt it if you're lucky."

He reached for a pack of smoked that wasn't there. "But you're not a soldier or a human right now." He said, abandoning his futile search. "You're a Power Ranger, a Super Sentai, you get that?" he asked. "We heroes aren't allowed to choose between the mission and saving lives. We have a third option available to us."

_\_ "I will not surrender." _\_ Shinji Ikari snarled.

Takenaka grinned behind the mask. "So you've taken the third option." He said. "Kill the angel, save the kids, and pull off some crazy shit while you're at it."

He leant back in a chair. "Now I'm gonna tell you how."

* * *

Shinji nodded, cutting the communications link.

It was a risky plan, but it was a good one.

He reached for the wall and grabbed the Power Axe that the Mastodon had left him, then leapt from the cockpit.

"AIDA!" The Green Ranger shouted, tossing down the Dragon Dagger. "Play the notes I tell you to! Toji, carry him the hell outta here!"

He didn't look at the two boys, trusting in them as Takenaka told him to.

Instead, he recited the short melody that had to be played on the Dragon Dagger in order to keep it going without a pilot, the ordered Aida to keep playing it over and over again.

Then, with the Black Ranger's axe in hand, the Green Ranger jumped from the Dragonzord and towards the angel.

* * *

"TAKENAKA, YOU ARE INSANE!" Ritsuko screeched.

"Swiiiish." Takenaka replied, turning in his chair to face her, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and hiding the helmet's mouth behind his interlocked fingers, much like their absent commander. "Your lack of faith disturbs me, Ritski."

She backed-stepped in sheer shock as the Black Ranger span in his chair to face the monitor.

"Swish. Kick some ass kiddo."

* * *

The Power Axe embedded itself into the angel's core, dragging a chasm through the red stone as Shinji tried to slow his descent.

The angel screamed, but Shinji managed to secure a position in the angel's core. He twisted his body to jam his feet on either side of the core's wound as he twisted the Power Axe around and rammed the muzzle on the base of the axe's handle into the crack.

He pumped the handle once, as Takenaka instructed, and fired.

The blast opened up a sizeable hole in the massive core.

Shinji fell as the angel screamed, but the Masto-Dragonzord held it fast. Shinji rolled in the air and landed on the Dragonzord's leg, running up its body as he fired wildly at the angel again and again until he was high enough to jump off the Dragonzord's body and back onto the top of the angel's core.

He fired massive holes into the red core as the angel screamed and writhed, but Shinji held his place as he dug his way through the glowing red stone.

The Power Axe's blaster form was a powerful weapon if you could get close enough to use it.

He worked like a miner- digging through the stone with ruthless efficiency, no matter how much the angel round him writhed and tried to throw him out.

He blasted another hole, and the angel screamed, much more pained than before, but it stopped as the glow around Shinji died.

The angel's corpse rolled through the air as it fell to the ground.

* * *

Aida stopped playing as the Green Ranger hopped out of the alien's power source.

The Green Ranger walked up to him.

"S-Shinji…" Toji gasped.

The Green Ranger took the Dragon Dagger from Aida's hands. "Thank you for your help." He told him whole heartedly. "You'd best return to the shelter."

* * *

Shinji was in trouble.

He knew he was.

He almost abandoned the mission.

Once he returned to NERV, he was placed in a cell while they figured out what to do.

Technically, he hadn't done anything wrong, and Misato demanded to know why he was in a cell.

"It's not locked." The guard told her. "He just walked in there on his own, like he thinks he deserves to be punished."

* * *

Misato dragged him out of there and demanded an explanation for his actions.

Shinji began to debrief her on his actions during the mission, but that wasn't what she was asking for.

Shinji had performed admirably during the mission.

Why the hell was he punishing himself?

* * *

Gendo smiled once he heard the news in the jet.

"He defeated another angel." Kozo Fuyutsuki noted. "But that was only to be expected, wasn't it?"

Gendo placed the phone back on the hook. "Everything is falling to place." He said. "How is the first child?"

"The Red Ranger's preparing for shipment." Fuyutsuki reported. "The Tyrannosaurus will be able to take part in the battle against the sixth angel."

Gendo nodded.

"Send Berlin a report concerning the Green Ranger's battle prowess." Ikari said. "Both inside and outside the Dragonzord."

Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow. "You're adapting the scenario." He said.

"Shinji was better trained than I previously anticipated." Gendo explained. "The Red Ranger, however, is exceptionally proud and incredibly competitive. She should keep the boy distracted in case he comes across too much free time."

"You think he would turn against us?"

"He's incredibly loyal." Gendo told his vice-commander. "But he will not tolerate those who betray that loyalty."

"So he's a bomb that we don't want to defuse." Fuyutsuki sighed.

"That's the Red Ranger." Gendo corrected. "The Green Ranger is a bomb technician we want to keep busy. Defusing Asuka will be less of a loss than creating a fuse for Rei."

Fuyutsuki shuddered at the thought.

Between a calm Asuka and an angry Rei, he knew which one he would rather deal with.

Besides, there is still America's Zord's to fall back on, now that the Second Child had been found.

* * *

Sixth Child- Green Ranger. Dragonzord.

Fifth Child- Black Ranger. Mastodon.

Third Child- Blue Ranger. Triceratops.

Second Child- Yellow Ranger. Sabre-Toothed Tiger.

First Child- Red Ranger. Tyrannosaurus.

Why no Fourth Child?

* * *

"Oh, that's Hyuuga." Takenaka told Shinji when he asked the question one day in one of the NERV staff canteens, patting the shoulder of the bespectacled as he sat down next to them. "He's the Pink Ranger. We trained him wrong on purpose as a joke, so now he's a Bridge Bunny."

"Yeah, and my Zord's a pterodactyl." Makoto Hyuuga sighed. "Very funny."

"So, what's the real reason?" Shinji asked with a slight grin. While his own attempts at humour were often flawed, he did enjoy other people's jokes.

"Well, America built the pterodactyl." Hyuuga explained. "And there is a Ranger Coin for it, but we couldn't find a user for it, so we abandoned that project."

Shinji furrowed his brow. "It's not like that." Hyuuga laughed, sheepishly. "The Zord itself is incredibly unsuited for battle, so we're not losing much in the name of resources until we try to make a Megazord.

"A Megazord?" Shinji asked.

"Well, you know that if the Dragonzord were to combine with the Mastodon, the Triceratops and the Sabre-Toothed Tiger, it becomes the Dragonzord Battle Mode?" Hyuuga asked him. "Well, if the Tyrannosaurus is also capable of forming the body as well as the Dragonzord, but it requires the Pterodactyl to form the chest plate in order to become the Megazord." He shrugged. "That's how useless the pterodactyl is; the most useful thing it can do is carry one person through the air like an oversized fighter jet, or become a chest plate. So we gave it enough funding to make it remote controlled in order to _form_ the Megazord, but there's no Pink Ranger for it."

"Besides," Takenaka shrugged. "Who wants to be the country with the _Pink_ Ranger as its claim to fame on an international level?" he asked. "I mean, sure, if all six of us were gathered in one city, then it wouldn't be so bad, but at least the Black or the Red Ranger can be a hero on their own."

"I suppose so." Shinji sighed, hoping for more men to use.

"So, when are you going to go back to school?" Takenaka asked Shinji, pointing a fork at him. "Your friends are worried about you."

"My friends?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah, Toji and Kensuke." Takenaka told him. "Plus Horaki's been on my case about you skiving."

"Y-yeah…" Shinji replied. "Sure…"

* * *

Five days after the Angel attack, Misato found a note from Shinji on his desk.

With the communicator and the Power Morpher.

- _Don't look for me. I'll come back on my own. -_

* * *

Gendo Ikari got out of the jet with Fuyutsuki and strode out into the rain with his umbrella.

PFT.

Gendo's chest hurt.

Like he'd just been punched.

He looked down to see two red blotches coming through his shirt.

"IKARI!" Fuyutsuki shouted, lowering his commanders head and leading him back towards the Pterodactyl, only to be stopped. "What?"

"It's paint." Gendo stated, opening his jacket to reveal an unblemished shirt underneath. "My son is sending me a message."

* * *

Shinji packed up his paintball gun and left the rooftop.

He just 'assassinated' the most guarded man in all of Tokyo-3 without a single Snag.

The guards were easy.

Tracking Gendo down was textbook.

His aim was perfect.

Shinji was not growing sloppy.

So why was he failing?

The Chief would know.

The Chief always knew.

Shinji was determined to figure it out.

Enemy recognition. That's what he'd do.

* * *

Within the hour, the police had been dealing with a number of people complaining of a paintballing sniper targeting random people on the street.

It was a childish prank, but the police could tell that his aim always hit either vital spots or non-vitals.

This didn't sound all that impressive, until you realised that it was _always_ a perfect hit.

Some people the shooter wanted to 'kill', some he wanted to 'disable'.

This was a military job.

Of course, it was a no-brainer to work out how many children in the city had military experience.

Especially after the prison escape that NERV covered up almost four weeks ago.

* * *

Misato slammed the phone down in rage. "Who does he think he is?" she shouted at Penpen. "First he shoots the commander with a paintball gun, now he's Paintball Charles Whitman?" she growled as she tugged on a jacket and an umbrella. "Oh, he'll be spending a night in a cell after this."

* * *

Ritsuko laughed when Misato complained that after two days of chaos, they _still_ hadn't tracked Shinji down.

"What's so funny?" her friend demanded.

Ritsuko wiped a tear from her eye. "It's just… you've never seen that training camp, have you?"

"And you have?" Misato asked.

"I paid an annual visit to check on him for the past five years." Ritsuko told her. "Wow… has it really been so long..?"

"Ritsuko." Misato snarled.

"Oh, of course." The blonde nodded, typing away at her computer. "Here's the recording they let me bring back for Gendo last year." She brought up the video. "They're playing capture the flag."

Misato watched from two dozen camera angles as half a dozen blindfolded children in bright orange uniforms were led into a fenced off forest. "The fence is twenty feet high and electrified." Ritsuko stated. "The forest itself is thirty-feet away from the fence. There are also video cameras attached to the trees and the soldier's helmets, as you can see from the rotation of the hundred video feeds."

"Soldiers?" Misato asked. "But those kids aren't wearing helmets."

"No, Misato." Ritsuko said. "This mission involves these 'kids' taking on a dozen soldiers in power suits armed with machine guns. Blanks, of course." She added, noticing Misato's horror.

"Are they insane?" she shouted. "Even blanks can kill at point-blank range!"

"Just watch." Ritsuko said. "There's Shinji, right there."

Shinji was being led along behind a slightly taller blonde boy and a tall brunette. The other three children were being led alongside them.

"What weapons do these children have?" Misato asked.

"None." Ritsuko shouted. "When the bell rings, they can remove their blindfolds and begin. Of course, the six of them are led to completely different locations within the forest."

"That's insane…" Misato shouted. "You're saying that Shinji and his friends _won?_ Like this?"

"Just watch." Ritsuko whispered.

A few minutes later, the bell rang.

Darkness fell.

"What?" Misato shouted.

"Now the helmet camera's are switching to heat-vision." Ritsuko explained. "Of course, all the cameras on the trees have already been taken out."

"Was that blackout-"

"We still don't know how it happened, other than someone _outside_ the fence cut the power." Ritsuko answered. "Now here come the reserve lights."

The children were gone.

The video feeds showing static were removed, leaving only the soldiers helmet cameras.

A black-clad body burst from nowhere and struck one soldier in the throat, taking his weapon and firing point-blank into the helmet, killing the feed and concussing the soldier.

Now all the camera feeds were gone.

"Three minutes later, the children left the training area dressed in their orange uniforms, with number 117 carrying the flag." Ritsuko told a shocked Misato. "We still don't know how they got the stealth gear, and this was an unplanned mission so there was no way they could have planted another child to take out the lights, except that somehow, it did happen."

Misato was still recovering. "Shinji…"

"In the debriefing report, Shinji reported that he took out four of the soldiers." Ritsuko told Misato. "Their debriefing information was impressive even for a veteran team, but they flat out refused to take any credit for the destruction of cameras, theft of stealth gear, or damage to the lights."

"What if they didn't?" Misato asked.

"They did." Ritsuko told her. "They did the same thing on a larger scale a month later against an Al-Qaeda faction in Afghanistan."

Misato sat down. "No way…"

Ritsuko turned in her chair to face Misato. "And now that boy is on the warpath in our city." She said. "It's only paintballs for now, and I doubt that it will escalate, but the fact is that you are not in control of this situation right now."

Maya Ibuki laughed despite herself. "I'm sorry…" she apologised, turning to pass the message onto Misato. "Five of NERV's Security Intelligence agents were just found knocked out half a mile from the city. A witness said that he was sharing a meal with Ikari when the agents surrounded them."

Misato groaned.

What had she done?

* * *

Junpei Kurosawa patrolled the NERV holding cells as usual, but stopped when he head a dull thumping sound inside one of them.

Gun at the ready, he opened the door.

Shinji Ikari was bouncing a tennis ball against the wall.

"What're you doing?" Kurosawa asked.

"I was gonna get caught anyway, since everyone knew it was me." Shinji told him, catching the tennis ball and throwing it again. "Please could you go tell the Captain that I detained myself?"

Kurosawa stepped backwards, then closed the door behind him, leaving the boy in darkness.

The thudding continued.

* * *

Light entered Shinji's world.

He caught the ball and held it as Misato walked in.

"Long time no see." She told him.

"Yes." Shinji nodded, holding the ball.

"Do you feel better after raising hell these past two days?" she asked him.

"I don't know." Shinji replied honestly. "My abilities haven't deteriorated, so I haven't found why I'm not performing as I should."

She held out a tray containing his Power Morpher. "The Dragonzord is on standby." She told him. "Will you fight? Or won't you?"

"You're not going to punish me for abandoning my duties?" Shinji asked. "Rei and Takenaka have had to deal with two golems without me."

"Rei can neutralise the golem's AT-field to the point where normal weapons can kill them." Misato explained. "Right now I'm more concerned about your emotional state."

"Of course you are." Shinji smiled. "You don't want me picking up an actual gun and shooting the commander. Has he increased his security detail?"

"That's not your concern right now." Misato told him. "Are you going to remain as a Green Ranger or not?"

Shinji was silent.

Then he said the last thing she ever thought he'd say.

"I can't go back to Boot Camp can I?"

* * *

"Are you sure it's still wise to keep the boy around?" Fuyutsuki asked Ikari.

"Of course." Gendo replied. "Why do you think he used a paintball gun?"

"Because he wanted to show you what he was capable o-"

"Wrong." Gendo told him. "I'm the hardest man to assassinate in the entire city. He's losing confidence in his abilities. What better way to make sure he's still got it?"

"So, why shoot civilians?"

"To provoke a response." Gendo smirked. "The boy wanted us to come for him. He wanted to keep testing himself."

"Will he leave?"

"He's nowhere to go."

* * *

"Father won't pay for me to continue training for a task that I walked away from." Shinji told Misato. "And the Team won't ever take me back if I abandoned a mission. I've nowhere to go but here."

"Why would you _want_ to go back there?"

Shinji looked at her like she was insane.

"I was happy there." He told her. "I had friends. I had leaders. I had challenges." He turned back to look at the wall, and smiled as he read the NERV slogan.

"God was in his heaven." He said. "All was right with the world."

"You mean your father?" Misato asked.

Shinji thought about it.

"Yes." He nodded. "Father was far away doing something important. I was there doing something important. All was right in the world."

"Don't you think _this_ is important?" Misato asked.

"I feel like I'm not performing as I should." He said. "I'm holding the Team back."

"Shinji." Misato sighed. "You're the only one who can pilot the-"

"I KNOW THAT!" Shinji shouted. "I KNOW I'M THE ONLY ONE YOU'VE GOT!"

Misato stepped back from the outburst. "So I need to do my best…" Shinji whispered, his shoulders shaking. "I need to be my best… anything less and I'm just letting you down…"

It clicked inside Misato's head.

"You left to _train_?" she asked.

"I can't be dead weight…" Shinji said. "I know I'm being useful, but I'm not doing enough… I CAN DO BETTER DAMMIT!"

"Shinji…" Misato smiled, tilting her head. "You're doing enough-"

"NO I AM NOT!"

WHAM

Shinji's knuckle bled from the impact with the metal wall.

"I won my first fight through a miracle…" Shinji sobbed. "I hadn't trained with the Dragonzord yet, so that was understandable… but the second time I had arms… but I still needed help to win…"

"Shamshel was much stronger than Sachiel." Misato explained. "It's okay that it was harder than you expected-"

"What's the fifth angel going to be like?" Shinji asked.

"You know we can't predict that-"

"Oh yeah?" Shinji… giggled? "I can." He said. "It's going to be stronger. It's going to be massive. It's going to slice anything that comes too close. It'll shrug off any attack that comes close while it just waltzes into Central Dogma while_ I can't do shit about it!_"

Misato saw it then.

He saw a boy who spent his life fighting those bigger than him with his friends.

And now he was facing the biggest enemies of his life without his friends.

Without any friends.

All alone.

Surrounded by people.

Surrounded by dead weights that want him to do more.

Because he's a hero. A miracle worker.

But outside the suit, he's just a kid.

That psycho loner kid that put whatshisface into the hospital.

I hear he drowns stray cats just to get his kicks…

She put her arms around him. "You'll do fine." She told him. "We're all here for you. We're all trying our best too."

Shinji cried.

He had a lot to let out.

* * *

Shinji woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

Not his communicator.

The phone Misato bought for him almost three weeks ago.

He picked it up.

"Hello?"

_\_ _"What the hell 108." __\___

Shinji sat bolt upright. "John?" he shouted.

_\_ "_That's 117 to you."_ _\_ the boy on the other end barked. _\_ "_Just how bad did you screw up over there that they got me to talk some sense into you?"_ _\_

Shinji smiled. "Sorry." He apologised. "I have no excuse. I forgot who I was."

_\_ _"And who are you?" _ _\_

"Shinji-108." Shinji replied, his eyes set and determined.

_\_ _"What is your duty?"_ _\_

"Fight and Win." Shinji replied. "Control the battlefield and be the best."

_\__ "What are you?" __\_

"The best."

_\_ _"Do you have permission to be a little bitch about it?" __\_

"No sir." Shinji said, rubbing his face.

_\_ _"WHAT WAS THAT SERGEANT-FIRST-CLASS-IKARI?" __\_

"SIR NO SIR!" Shinji saluted.

_\_ "_The get out there and kick ass Spartan-108." __\_

Shinji sniffed. "Yes Sir Master Chief Petty Officer John-117!" he saluted.

Few of the other Spartans had surnames.

None of them had families, except Shinji.

_\_ "_Kelly says hi."_ _\_ John told Shinji. _\_ _"I don't have much longer, so anything you wanna tell everyone?" __\_

Shinji nodded. "Tell The Chief to put more attention on social training." He said. "I crashed and burned there."

_\_ _"No, you're just a loner."_ _\_ John told him. _\_ _"And that's Chief Warrant Officer Mendez to yo-"_ _\_

_\_ _The time allotted for this phonecall has ended. The time allotted- __\_

Shinji hung the phone up with a smile on his face.

Time for school.

* * *

"Hey, Toji." Kensuke told his friend when they approached Shinji at school that day. "Come on, say something." He added with a push.

Toji glared at the otaku, but turned around to the soldier.

"Ikari, I'm sorry I beat the crap out of you without understanding anything." He told him. "Please hit me back."

"You know I can't do that." Shinji told him. "Under orders, remember?" And he didn't want to hospitalise another student.

"Please!" Toji shouted, bowing. "I won't feel satisfied knowing I'm in your debt otherwise."

"He's a pretty embarrassing guy, isn't he?" Kensuke laughed. "Just like I said, right? But, if it'll put an end to this dispute, go ahead and smack him one."

Shinji smiled.

He remembered when John asked Shinji to punch him.

He wasn't missing a chance like this again.

Shinji walked around him, patting him on the shoulder. "Nah." He said with a smile. "I'd prefer to have you owing me one."

"What was that?" Toji shouted, turning around. "Ikari, just punch me already!"

"What, so you can smack me around again just so I can have my change?" Shinji laughed. "Not a chance, you punch like a girl! I don't have that much time to waste!"

Toji roared. "GET BACK HERE!"

Shinji ran, laughing.

Kensuke ran after Toji, laughing his head off.

Despite the rage on his face, even Toji agreed the whole thing was pretty hilarious.

The rest of the school still stayed the hell away from him.

But Shinji had some friends he could laugh with and piss off.

School was fun.

* * *

_**September 2004**_

"_Line up!" Chief Mendez shouted. "Same Units as yesterday!"_

_Shinji looked at the new obstacle course as Kelly and that jerk 117 stood behind him. The bell was on top of a tower, about ten feet up._

"_This is a different course, but the rules are the same." Mendez shouted. "Last Unit to blow ring the bell don't eat."_

_Kelly pushed 117 from behind. "Don't leave us behind this time." She snarled._

_Shinji glanced back at 117 as he looked at the course. _

"_Whose fastest out of you two?" he asked._

"_Kelly." Shinji told him._

"_Kelly, you see that bucket with the pulley over there?" 117 asked. "When the Chief blows his whistle, I want you to sprint there and hold that position. Us two will follow you, make sure no one else gets to it."_

_Kelly looked to where 117 was pointing, then nodded. "Don't you dare leave Shinji behind."_

_117 looked at Shinji. "Try not to slow us down." He warned him._

_Shinji gulped._

_The whistle blew._

_Kelly flew._

_She really was the fastest._

_She got to the bucket way before anyone else got anywhere near._

_117 held onto Shinji as they pushed their way through the mad melee towards Kelly. Since they were holding onto each other, they were slower than everyone else, and there were two other boys trying to force Kelly out of the bucket by the time Shinji got there._

_Shinji pushed 117 aside and tacked the biggest boy, screaming as he punched and bit the boy. 117 punched the other one, and the two boys ran away to find another route up the tower._

"_Alright." 117 told the other two. "We'll go up in the bucket one at a time." He said. "The other two will pull you up, then we'll swap around. I'll go last this time."_

_Shinji nodded as he grabbed the rope and began to pull Kelly up the tower._

_He was hungry._

_He was tired._

_But he was determined._

_He pulled as hard as he could._

_When it was his turn to go up, he rang the bell loud and clear._

_When 117 went up, both he and Kelly pulled harder than ever._

_Unit 01 didn't come first._

_But they certainly did not come last._

_

* * *

_

"_I'm sorry." 117 told the other two after supper. "I shouldn't have let you both down last time."_

"_It's fine." Kelly laughed. "Let's just keep working together like earlier, yeah?"_

"_But…" 117 glared at the two. "I want you to hit me. We'll be even then."_

"_What?" Kelly asked, but Shinji jumped at the chance, ramming a fist into the other boy's face._

_Shinji was short for his age, but his father was a bar brawler. He had combat instincts._

_He punched 117 enough for both him and Kelly. _

_Afterwards, they were a real Unit. _

_Shinji-108, Kelly-087 and John-117._

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

I wrote the second half of this chapter to "The Freshmen" by Verve Pipe. It worked, in my opinion.

And yeah. Shinji's back-story is a lot like Halo: Fall of Reach. Makes sense since that's pretty much what his backstory is.

Still, glad to see it's still Shinji there.

Much as I like Shinji and Warhammer40k, that won't be happening here.


	5. Rei

Damn, I'm on a bleeding roll with this story.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**December 2004**_

"_Hey, John…" Spartan 108 asked his team leader one mealtime._

"_Yeah Shinji?" the leader asked his teammate._

"_Unit 11 went without food again."_

_John looked over at the three kids in the corner. "Yeah, that's three days in a row they've gone without supper." He went back to his meal. "Hooray for lunch, right?"_

_Shinji nodded. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something… while Kelly's in the bathroom."_

_John looked up at the boy._

"_We're supposed to look after our teammates…" Shinji said. "How far does that go? How many are our teammates?"_

"_You want to throw tomorrow's bell game so Unit 11 can eat supper tomorrow?" John asked._

"_Not just that." Shinji said. "I want to start a rota. Make sure no-one goes without food more than once every two weeks."_

"_Think you can do that?" John asked. "Everyone will think we're being desperate."_

_Shinji shook his head._

"_Not if we lose tomorrows game." He said. "Then __**win**__ the day after."_

"_On an empty stomach?" John asked. "Are you being crazy?"_

"_Maybe." Shinji replied. "I honestly think this place drove me insane ages ago."_

_John grinned. "I like it." _

* * *

_**January, 2005**_

"_This time, we're going to do something interesting." Chief Mendez declared to the cadets. It was still hot. He missed the snow. "This time, there is a prize for first place."_

_John perked his ears. _

_There had never been a prize for coming first before._

_Could he have discovered the rota?_

"_This time, only two people in each team can eat." The Chief said. "Whoever rings the bell from each Unit goes without. The last person to ring the bell of the last unit gets to eat without his allies."_

_John's blood ran cold._

_The Chief knew. _

_The Chief knew about the rota._

_And he was going to turn everyone against each other._

_And it was working._

_Mendez put the whistle to his lips._

_But no one was going to run._

_FEEP._

_Shinji ran. _

_Shinji flat-out sprinted, jumping through hoops and vaulting over every single obstacle until he reached the end._

_Not even stopping to pant for breath he didn't need, Shinji turned to everyone and reached the bell with a broad grin._

_John rang it first, then handed the rope to Shinji._

"_I'm the team leader." John told Shinji as their heads were clonked together by their third teammate.  
_

"_There you go again." Kelly told them, moving past them and ringing the bell. "Leaving me out of your plans as always."_

* * *

_John didn't eat that night._

_But the bell game wasn't played again._

_The troops had grown beyond it._

_It was time for the next stage._

* * *

_**2015**_

It had been twenty-one days since Shinji had arrived in Tokyo-three.

Three wasted weeks.

Shinji needed to make up for lost time.

Misato invited him to come to the deconstruction site where they were analysing the corpse of the previous angel, but Shinji declined, deciding instead to analyse the data from the previous battles.

For the past three weeks, Shinji had been acting like a soldier.

Shinji wasn't a soldier.

Shinji was Spartan.

It was time to act like one.

* * *

The angels are alive.

Shinji hadn't thought of that before, but, the first angel especially, they were capable of emotion, or at least fear.

They also learn, and can adapt their bodies seemingly at will in order to adapt to the new scenario.

So each angel will be more creative than the last.

So if NERV were to assemble a group of sci-fi TV show writers, they might be able to predi-

No, that was a stupid idea.

But the angels were alive. Their core and AT-field kept them almost immortal, so they didn't need to be that smart.

Angels have power, Humans have intelligence. From that intelligence, man gained the power to destroy angels.

But could this be taken further?

* * *

Misato walked into the apartment to find Shinji playing with two objects on the table; a Godzilla doll and a G.I. Joe.

Godzilla pushed G.I. Joe and began jumping on it as Shinji made little roaring noises under his breath.

"Having fun?" Misato asked, waving. She was a little disappointed when the boy didn't even show a hint of embarrassment, simply waving back.

"It was scared." Shinji told her, putting the toys down. "The third angel was terrified of the Dragonzord when we battled."

"Well, of course it was." Misato told him. "It was pretty much dead when you snapped."

Shinji shook his head. "It was like it'd never seen anything like it before." He said. "But the fourth angel attacked the Dragonzord without hesitation. You said that the angels learn?"

"Shinji, put the toys down and make food." Misato sighed, resting her head on the table. "You were right to skip out on the analysis meeting, it was completely boring."

"No, you don't get it." Shinji said. "The angel's are alive. They _think._"

"Shinji, we know." She sighed. "What're you getting at?"

"We can use psychological warfare."

Misato blinked.

Then laughed.

"What?" Shinji asked.

Misato wiped a tear from her eye. "They aren't that smart." She said. "We can scare 'em, sure, but they don't have the upper-brain-capacities for that kind of stuff."

Shinji sighed. Well, it was good to get into the mind of his enemy. Helped him fight better.

* * *

Shinji sunk a basket in school the next day.

Granted, he'd never have managed it if Toji hadn't passed the ball, but the other guys were finally starting to warm up to Shinji.

He was gaining respect.

Respect he promptly lost by staring at Ayanami a little too long while the rest of his team rested.

It wasn't that he was attracted to her. She was pretty enough, but Shinji didn't feel like that.

It would be wrong to think of a teammate in that way.

No, he just wanted to know why se was always alone.

Apparently, Rei hadn't had a single friend since she transferred to the school back in the seventh grade. Apparently, there was something about her that made her hard to approach.

Not in the same way Shinji was hard to approach. Shinji was tall and muscular for his age, looked a good four years too old for the class, carried himself purposefully and had an aura that warned people not to mess with him.

Rei, on the other hand, just felt… like she didn't belong.

Kensuke and Toji couldn't believe that Shinji was asking them questions about her though as he jogged along to their run around the track. They were both Rangers after all.

That said, Shinji barely knew her.

He barely knew his own teammate after being here three weeks.

That was a grave oversight on Shinji's part.

* * *

One thing Shinji did know about Rei.

She got on with his father much better than he did.

She even smiled when talking to him.

And Gendo smiled towards her.

Shinji was… jealous.

He tried to shake the feeling away. Bitterness between teammates would cause friction and endanger the mission.

Still…

* * *

That night, Ritsuko came over for dinner.

"What is this?" the scientist demanded as Shinji dished up the meal.

"Curry." Misato replied.

"You're still eating this instant stuff?" Ritsuko demanded.

"It's better than that health crap Shinji makes." Misato groaned. "Besides, as a guest, you've no right to complain."

"Pour the sauce into your pot noodle?" Shinji asked her.

"You know how I like it!" Misato declared, holding her cup out for Shinji to pour in the sauce. "The trick is to put less hot water into the soup. Let's eat!"

Ritsuko sighed, bringing some rice into her mouth.

She didn't swallow. Couldn't.

Giving up, she brought a tissue to her mouth. Could anyone blame her?

"Misato made this, didn't she?" she asked Shinji.

Shinji was in the kitchen pouring chilli onto a Jacket potato. "I've got orders to keep myself in shape, so I don't touch what she makes." He explained.

'_How can she make a microwavable meal taste so bad?'_ Ritsuko thought. "Shinji, did you-?"

Shinji handed her the potato and brought a second one from the oven. "Oi." Misato growled. "You shouldn't waste food."

"That's what I keep telling you." Shinji told her, dolloping chilli onto his potato. "Not even Penpen will eat your crap."

Ritsuko laughed as the Penguin started mooching Shinji for some of his food. "Shinji, you really ought to move out." She told him. "You can't let one bad roommate ruin your life."

"Unfortunately, my superior officer ordered me to stay." Shinji laughed, bringing his plate over to the table. "Just six more promotions and I can leave."

Misato stopped growling. "You have rank?" she asked him.

"Sergeant First Class." Shinji nodded. "Didn't you read my file?"

Misato shook her empty beer can. "I forget things when I need another beer." She told him with a wink.

Turning to Ritsuko as Shinji picked up the cue and vaulted over to the kitchen work surface, Misato added that "The red tape would be an absolute pain. He just got his permanent security card you know."

"Damn, almost forgot." Ritsuko realised as Shinji came back with four beers. "Shinji, could you do me a favour and give Rei her security card tomorrow on your way to headquarters?"

"Sure." Shinji said, distributing the drinks between the two women, the bird, and himself, but Misato snatched it from his hands.

"Oi, you're too young to drink." Misato warned him, pouring the alcohol into her own can.

"Huh." Ritsuko nodded. "Well, that explains who kept taking the warden's alcohol."

Pst.

Shinji was drinking another can.

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?" shrieked Misato, diving for the can.

Shinji burped, holding the can out of her reach. "Misato, I'm drinking one tonight." He told her with a smirk. "The only question is how many of _your_ beers I go through before you give up."

Misato drew herself to full height.

"No underage drinking." She told Shinji. "That's an order sergeant."

Shinji gaped at her, then slammed the drink on the table. "Dammit." He grumbled. "Eleven years of service… I _should_ outrank you by seniority you know!"

"Shut up and drink your milk." Misato told him as Ritsuko chuckled.

Shinji stood up and walked away. "Nah, I'll go round and drop off this card." He said, grabbing his dark-blue hooded jacket. "I was going for a run anyways."

"Try not to get arrested this time." Misato waved as Shinji tugged his shoes on.

"Yeah, okay." Shinji replied, walking out the door.

The door clicked shut and there was an odd pause in the women's conversation.

"He didn't even touch his dinner…" Ritsuko commented.

For Penpen, this was his chance.

* * *

Shinji got to her apartment block after a half-hour's run.

He was shocked.

I mean, with all the technological beauty of Tokyo-3, it was surprising that Gendo's favourite lived so… shabbily.

He considered inviting her over to live with him and Misato.

He'd give her his own room and move into the cupboard, if it came to it.

It was wrong that his teammate was living like this.

He could take the entire building in five minutes with a water pistol.

_In the rain_.

In fact…

Shinji checked the address on her card, pulled his hood deep over his face and drew the gun that he took from Misato's jacket on the way out.

Let's see how she reacts to a good shock.

* * *

Five minutes later, Shinji Ikari was slammed against the concrete floor with a foot on his throat and a gun pointed at his head.

He shouldn't have kicked the bathroom door down when she was in the shower.

That was uncalled for.

He also should have expected that she could defend herself.

As a Power Ranger, of course she has martial arts training.

Krav Maga if he wasn't mistaken.

She fought like that Israeli man last year.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Ritsuko asked me to deliver your ID card." Shinji replied honestly.

"Why did you break in with a gun?" Rei asked.

"I thought that your house was inadequately protected and wanted to prove this to you." Shinji answered. "Apparently I was wrong."

She looked down at him.

Shinji hoped it was water splashing on his face.

She lifted the gun and walked back into the bathroom, grabbing a towel to dry herself.

Shinji stood up and walked around the corner, contemplating the scene.

"So… why do you live like this?" he asked, looking around the Spartan room-

No.

Shinji had been brought up in a Spartan environment.

This was dangerous.

"That's none of your concern." She replied from the other side of the wall.

Shinji sighed.

If there was another thing he knew about Rei from what he heard, she obeyed orders. "I hold the rank of Sergeant First Class." He told her. "Unless this order has already been vetoed by a higher up, why do you live here?"

"Because it is convenient."

Shinji sighed. She really was a brick wall.

"I have no intention to leave my home."

Shinji opened his eyes.

Who was he to come into her life, rip her from what she knew, and take her home?

He shook his head, appaled by his actions.

He almost became one of _those_ people.

A self-proclaimed savior.

"Of course." He nodded. "I'll leave your ID card by your tablets then?" he asked.

"Yes."

Shinji sighed, walking over to the bedside table.

He checked the names of the pills.

Only a few of them he recognised.

He knew the names of almost every prescription drug on the menu, and the only ones he knew here were a few contraceptive pills and the Ritalin.

Curiouser and curiouser.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Shinji said, walking out of the apartment.

No more playing Jesus.

* * *

He did, however wait in a tree outside Central Dogma so he could follow Rei into NERV HQ.

"Hey." He told her, following her in.

She ignored him.

He sighed and followed her.

* * *

"I'm sorry about last night." Shinji told her on the escalator.

"About what?" Rei asked.

Did she mean for him to forget it? That she didn't see the need to mention it again seeing as how she defended herself? Or did she really just not think anything of the incident?

He couldn't tell. Rei's body language was non-existent.

"The Triceratop's reactivation test is today, isn't it?" Shinji asked her, changing the subject after a moment. "I hope it goes well."

He only got silence from his fellow pilot.

Wow, she was cold. Even for someone who was pointing a gun at him last night.

Shinji found those people either to be very talkative or unable to talk. Rarely had he encountered someone who _wouldn't_ talk to him.

"You were hurt when the Triceratops tried to transform with you inside it, weren't you?" Shinji asked. "You okay going back inside?"

There was another familiar silence, and he was surprised when she turned to face him this time.

"Aren't you Commander Ikari's son?" she asked him. "Don't you have any faith in your father's work?"

Shinji smirked. "I trust my father about as far as I could throw him; just enough length of rope for him to hang me with." He shrugged. "Unless he proves himself otherwise, he's just my commanding officer and I'll follow his orders. Faith?"

His head was rattled by a slap to the side of his face.

That was a solid hit.

Shinji never saw that coming.

She really does respect his father.

"Well, he's doing something right if you trust him." Shinji admitted. "Hope I'll get to feel like…"

She'd walked off.

Shinji blew it.

He sighed, sitting down on the moving steps.

Maybe the group dynamic would change for the better once the German Ranger got here.

* * *

Shinji felt bitter about the whole experience as he practiced controlling the Dragonzord from the outside, and it was affecting his music.

He'd heard the story of course.

His father somehow burned his hands truing to get Rei out of the Triceratops, even though only Rangers could enter the cockpit.

It had to be bullcrap.

The Zords don't generate heat.

And even if it did, it wouldn't be enough to burn flesh.

So why was everyone so impressed with the man?

Then came the sirens.

An angel.

* * *

Shinji glared at the visual of the angel as he was briefed on his position.

It was a singing blue crystal that floated across the city.

Shinji didn't like it.

"Green Ranger, prepare for launch." Misato ordered.

"Negative." Shinji replied.

Everyone froze.

"The previous two angels had limbs." Shinji stated. "It was fightable. Judging from our previous experience, this angel should be more capable of battle than the previous two." Shinji turned around. "Captain Katsuragi, may I request testing the angel's battle technique before my deployment?"

Misato looked at Gendo for confirmation.

"Very well." The commander decided from behind his fingers. "Do it."

* * *

A large tree rose from the floor before the angel.

It twisted into a shape- two wide structures of squares above and below the core in the centre.

The angel Ramiel launched a blast of concentrated flame.

Takenaka flinched as the tree they sent up on the elevator was incinerated by the angel's laser beam. "Ouch." He whistled, patting Shinji on the shoulder. "Good call."

Misato glared at the monitor as the crystal compressed into the diamond shape.

This was not good.

The angel continued to move over the city, until coming to a stop directly above Central Dogma.

The bottom corner twisted, then descended as it contorted.

The bottom section formed a drill, curling around the itself as it rotated through the ground.

"It's drilling through!" Hyuuga shouted.

"Deploy a dummy balloon and the artillery." Misato ordered. "We're gonna find out just what makes this angel tick."

* * *

The angel attacked anything that came within its range, transforming itself and destroying the target with its particle beam.

The angel sometimes transformed into a massive shield to absorb the attack, then launching a much more powerful attack.

The trade-off wasn't between power and accuracy.

Every single attack had 100% accuracy.

It was power versus exposure.

"So, the more of itself it shows, the stronger the attack…" Misato grumbled. "But, we can't hit it when it fires that beam…"

The angel could even turn into a spinning form that sliced through anything within the radius, when faced with an attack from all sides.

Close quarters combat with the Zords was impossible.

"What about from below?" Shinji suggested.

"No good." Misato grumbled. "The angel chose the one place above central dogma without any elevators near it. What about its drill?"

"It's made of the same properties of the angel's wall itself." Aoba reported. "17.5 metres in diameter, boring towards NERV HQ."

"It's planning to attack NERV HQ directly." Hyuuga stated.

"Sneaky bastard." Misato grumbled, glancing at Shinji. "You knew this was gonna happen, didn't you?"

"No, I was just being flippant at the time." Shinji apologised. "Perhaps the angels can choose their form while in an embryotic state and there's an angel egg within NERV HQ?"

"Don't scare me like that." Misato sighed. "What's its ETA?"

"12:06:54 AM tomorrow." Aoba reported. "We have 9 hours, 50 minutes and 20 seconds until arrival. By that time, it will have breached through all twenty-two layers of armour and reached NERV HQ."

"Less than ten hours…" Misato said.

She turned towards a whirring sound in the corner.

Shinji was printing off a paper copy of the map.

And a photograph of Ramiel's drill.

And another copy of the map.

Shinji placed one map on top of the other, studied the drill of the angel, then pinched the centre of the top map and twisted it.

"Do you think it might have a blind spot?" Misato asked him.

"No." Shinji told her. "But I think its viewpoint might be distorted at the drill. If we can send Rangers in through there, we might be able to sabotage its drill."

"Unless it kills us in the process." Takenaka sighed. "Although… it hasn't chopped up any buildings yet."

"It won't be strong enough." Misato sighed.

"What if a much stronger attack forces it into an open formation?" Shinji asked her. "You could launch the Dragonzord in Battle Mode to a nearby spot, attack with the lasers in the shield to distract the angel, while the Blue and Black Rangers attack from below."

"Denied." Gendo stated. "That would put the Dragonzord at unnecessary risk."

"Unnecessary suggests that we have another option." Shinji explained.

"The drill has contacted with the first armoured plate!" Aoba shouted. "Estimated drill arrival is now nine hours, fifty-five minutes."

"Do we have any other plans?" Hyuuga asked.

"Yeah." Misato smirked. "One."

* * *

Within an hour, Project Akatsuki was in place.

It was an all-or-nothing plan with a 17.2% chance of success.

Over the next few hours, NERV would gather all of the country's power generators to generate the 180,000,000 kilowatts the operation needed, and connect the generators together with the experimental particle weapon from the Jet Alone weapon, after it had been outfitted as a sniper rifle.

The Dragonzord in Battle Mode would use it with Shinji acting as a sniper. His training more than made him qualified for the role, and the mastodon's arms would help him perform the delicate task.

Rei, in the Triceratops, would use the Mastodon's head as a shield to defend Shinji in case the angel retaliates. The shield would last for seventeen seconds.

Once the particle sniper rifle had fired, it would take twenty seconds to cool down before firing again, so Shinji won't have time to be delicate with his second shot.

In fact, he'll only get a second shot if the angel waits three seconds after being hit before retaliating.

The Black Ranger would attack from below, using a 3-D distortion model Shinji developed with Maya Ibuki using the Magi. Takenaka would move through the buildings walls and blind spots until he was close enough to distort its AT-Field. From the sniping range, there was no way to neutralise it, so they had to rely on pure power otherwise.

The operation would take place at midnight.

Misato prayed that they would be ready in time.

* * *

"We might die doing this." Shinji told Rei.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Because that's the fact of war." He said. "One thing goes wrong-"

"You won't die." Rei told him. "I will protect you."

Shinji nodded.

Rei didn't like him.

But they were a Unit.

You trusted those in your Unit, and they protected you.

Rei thought the same way as he did.

He stood up, smiling.

His fears had been put to rest.

"Alright kids!" Takenaka told them, wiping his hands on his jeans after coming out of the toilet. "We ready to go?"

Shinji nodded.

Misato had informed him that morphing together with other teammates increases the power of the Ranger's AT-fields, plus their synchronisations rates with their Zords.

Shinji held out his Power Morpher. Time to put that bit of tactical advantage to work.

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_" Shinji shouted.

"_**MASTODON!**_" Takenaka roared.

"_**Triceratops.**_"

"Dammit Rei!" Takenaka groaned, powering down. "You gotta do it with _feeling_."

"Yes." She nodded, deactivating her suit. "I apologise."

Shinji demorphed. "Alright, we'll do this again. _**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

"_**MASTODON!**_"

"_**Triceratops!**_"

The Black Ranger sighed. "Good enough." He decided, rubbing his teammate's helmets together. "Don't you two get killed while I'm gone, alright?"

* * *

A few hours later, darkness spread around the city.

No.

All of Japan went silent.

The Green Ranger looked up at the sky.

He hadn't seen so many stars in months.

It was just like how Simon-027 once told him.

All the lights in the sky are stars.

"Why do you fight?" Shinji asked Rei before they entered their Zords, since they were currently on non-hostile terms.

She hesitated before answering, her helmet titling forward.

"Because I'm bound." She admitted.

Shinji turned his head towards her. "Bound?" he asked.

"Yes, it is a bond." She decided.

Shinji looked back at the stars. "With my father?" he asked.

"With all people." She told him.

Shinji smiled behind the helmet. "You're very strong Ayanami." He told her.

"Because I have nothing else." She said.

That confused him. "What do you mean, 'you have nothing else'?" he asked her. Is she being forced to fight for her medication?

She didn't answer, only standing up.

"It's time." She said as she gripped her Power Lance. "Let's go."

Shinji stood up as she glanced at the moon. "Goodbye."

She jumped from the pedestal, into the Triceratops below.

Shinji wiped it from his mind and jumped into the Dragonzord.

* * *

_\_ "Shinji, we're intrusting you with all the electricity in Japan." _\_ Misato told him once the operation began at midnight. _\_ "Good luck!" _\_

Shinji leant forward on the cockpit's desk. "Yes ma'am." He said, before drowning out all unnecessary noise, focusing only on the gun and the target.

Just like Afghanistan. Only a big red rock inside a blue crystal, not a terrorist neck behind a stone wall.

Breathe.

Aim.

Breathe.

_\_ "Clear the chamber." _\_

Shinji loaded the rifle.

Aim.

Breathe.

Aim.

Breathe.

_\_ "Countdown to fire! Ten, nine, eight, seven-" _\_

_\_ "High energy reaction from inside the target!" _\_

_\_ "Three, Two-" _\_

Shinji fired.

_\_ "IDIOT!" _\_

The positron burst through the sky as the angel fired its attack back.

The beams bent around each other.

That one second head start meant that the angel's beam went miles off course, landing in the middle of a lake while Shinji's blast pierced the angel's crystalline body, knocking a chunk out of its core and smashing through a building.

If he shot on time, he would have missed completely.

Shinji discharged the fuse as Misato shouted that now it would take twenty-five seconds for the barrel to cool down before firing again.

The angel screamed.

But it wasn't healing.

_\_ "The drill stopped just as in penetrated the Geofront!" _\_ someone shouted. _\_ "The angel's stopped, but it's alive!" _\_

The angel screamed as it unfolded upon itself.

Twice.

Three times.

_\_ "Another high-energy level has been detected from inside the target!" _\_

Shinji didn't flinch.

He just corrected his aim as the enemy fired.

* * *

Because of the wound, the angel's accuracy was damaged.

Because of that, it didn't aim.

It just spread the attack towards Shinji, bathing the mountain in fire.

The Triceratops raised the back, blocking the Dragonzord with the Mastodon head.

It wasn't nearly big enough.

Shinji screamed as the Mastodon's shoulders burned.

He gritted his teeth as the Dragonzord's tail melted together.

He focused as he imagined Rei's pain.

He breathed.

He aimed.

He breathed.

He aimed.

_\_ "Ten more seconds until the cooling is complete!" _\_

He breathed.

He aimed.

He breathed.

He aimed.

He locked on.

_\_ "Five more seconds!" _\_

Shinji fired.

The gun exploded in his hands, and he screamed.

The blast obliterated Ramiel's attack and burst straight through its body.

It screamed as it folded back into a diamond.

It stopped screaming as it sprayed blood across the city, a crimson rain on Tokyo-3.

The flames stopped.

The angel's twisting drill snapped.

Ramiel fell to the ground.

Shinji stood up and leapt from the cockpit. "AYANAMI!" he roared, ignoring the damage done to the Zords and the weapons, and charging for the half-melted triceratops.

He leapt right through the melting metal as it burned through his Ranger Armour. "AYANAMI! He shouted, grabbing her and leaping back out into the trees. "AYANAMI!" he screamed, forcing himself to not remove her helmet, instead picking out the broken glass inside from the broken visor. "Hold on, don't move!"

She blearily opened her eyes as he removed the last shard.

He sighed.

"Never say goodbye before leaving on a mission." He told her. "That suggests that you don't intend to come back…"

She leant forwards. "Are you crying?" she asked him.

He didn't answer as a tear bounced inside his helmet.

"I apologise." She said, looking away. "I don't know what to do at a time like this."

Shinji smiled.

He pointed to he cheek of his helmet, but stopped when he remembered Ayanami didn't know Spartan.

Instead, Shinji removed his helmet. "You _can_ just smile you know." He told her, tears in his eyes. "After all, we completed the mission, and everybody lives. Isn't that enough?"

She looked at him.

She saw Gendo for a split second.

She saw the boy.

She smiled through the broken helmet.

* * *

The positron rifle was beyond repair, and it would be weeks before either the Triceratops or the Mastodon could fight again.

The Dragonzord itself was mostly unharmed, needing only a few days of repairs.

Shinji, on the other hand, incurred first degree burns on his hands, shins, back, with a large second degree burn on his right shoulder.

Normally, this would be three weeks to heal, but NERV's surgical machines with Shinji's physical condition reduced it to one night in surgery with a week of bandages.

* * *

"Hey, nice work back there kiddo."

Shinji opened his eyes to see the grinning Takenaka giving him a thumb up from the next bed, holding an oxygen mask in his other hand. Shinji smiled and gave him one back, wincing as the sores on his knuckles brushed each other.

"You and your dad, huh?" Takenaka laughed, taking a quick puff of the oxygen mask. "Always getting yourselves burned for Ayanami, huh?"

Shinji chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

A thought hit him.

"Why're you in here?" he asked his teacher.

"Angel noticed me when I was screwing with its AT-field." He sighed, gesturing to his torso. "Looks like I'll be retiring soon, huh?"

Shinji's blood ran cold as he saw the man's wounds. His left shoulder had been completely blown off, taking the rest of the arm and a fair amount of his torso with it, and that wasn't even the worst of the damage. He was missing a huge chunk of his abdomen, and most likely his kidneys and intestines were blown away, leaving only a seared hole behind.

He… couldn't have more than mere hours left…

"Looks like you'll be dying sooner." Shinji stated, mouth dry.

"Damn right." Takenaka sighed, leaning back. "Got a smoke on ya?"

"No."

"Shit." Takenaka chuckled. "They won't even let me have a last smoke. Never even got laid either, ya know that?"

Shinji shook his head. "No, I didn't."

Takenaka smiled. "Embarrasing, ain't it?" he asked. "Make sure you bang a chick for me."

Shinji nodded, saluting. "It's been an honour, Black Ranger Takenaka."

Takenaka smirked.

"Don't say that." he said, putting the oxygen mask back on his face. "I ain't dead yet."

* * *

Eikichi Takenaka's funeral took place three days after the battle.

He was posthumously elevated three stages to the rank of Sergeant Major.

Shinji wasn't even aware that he outranked him in the first place.

* * *

**-}+{-**


	6. Jet Alone

My replacement wire for my laptop returned! Whoot!

So. Jet Alone, no Zords, healing burns on his body. How will Shinji do this time?

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**May 2008**_

_Shinji was a changed boy._

_At only seven years old, he could strip down almost any gun you cared name, rebuild it, and hit almost any target you set him to shoot._

_He had black belts in several martial arts._

_He could both build and defuse bombs._

_He could swim across a river._

_He knew first aid._

_He knew CPR._

_He was getting the hang of basic computer hacking skills._

_His teamwork was almost flawless._

_He was a fine soldier._

_He was a fine Spartan.  
_

"_Spartan 108."_

_Shinji replaced the safety catch on his rifle and saluted as the warden handed him a package. "Your father wants you to learn how to use this within seven years." The warden said, handing him the box. "You have been allocated twenty minutes from your daily training regimen to practice."_

_Shinji saluted again as he took the package. "Sir." He said._

"_So, whatcha got?" Kelly asked Shinji as he unwrapped the package._

_It was a flute._

* * *

_**June 2008**_

_Shinji stood over the bloodied boy, huffing up the air as he stepped over Isaac-039 and reached under his bunk._

_Withdrawing the flute._

"_This…" Shinji snarled. "Is… Mine…"_

_Isaac got to his feet._

"_Just because _you've_ got a father that loves y-"_

_WHAM_

"_My father hates me." Shinji snarled, grabbing his teammate by the collar as the wardens rushed in to break the fight up. "I'm just following the orders I was given."_

* * *

_**2015**_

Shinji spread butter on his toast as a yawning Misato walked into the kitchen.

"Morning." He nodded to her.

"You're awfully cheerful." She mumbled. "Got over Takenaka already?"

Shinji shook his head. "He died in the course of his duty." He told her as she began downing her morning beer. "I'm respecting that. That's all."

"Ah!" Misato shouted after letting out a gasp of air. "That's how you start a morning!"

Shinji nodded. "The rest of the class is still in mourning, but Nakamura is an acceptable teacher." He said. "He asked me to remind you of today's Parent-Teacher conference."

"Yeah." She nodded, grabbing a slice of toast. "It's part of my job after all."

Shinji nodded.

Misato nodded to herself, swirling her can in her hand.

She missed the sarcasm and playfulness that the Shinji _before_ the Ramiel battle had.

* * *

Shinji looked out the window of his school into the distance, at the corpse of his fallen enemy.

It was bigger in person.

SCREEECH!

Shinji looked down to see Misato swerve her sportscar into a parking space perfectly.

"She's arrived!" Toji shouted, pushing Shinji out of the way to look at her through the window as Aida pushed past on the other side with his video camera to catch every second of the pale, long legs leaving the car, followed by the rest of Misato.

She took off her sunglasses and smiled as Shinji and his friends, flashing them a V sign and a flirtatious wink as she walked into the school.

"Miss Misato sure is awesome!" Toji sighed, returning the gesture with a big grin on his face.

"You think so?" Shinji asked, deciding to make another stab at humour. "I wouldn't say awesome so much as _dirty._"

The two boys snapped back to Shinji as he shrugged casually. "I try to keep it under control, but she just has no sense of self-discipline. She just drops her clothes there and then and expects me to deal with it. It's really just-"

Kensuke put a hand on Shinji's shoulder, shaking his head. "No Shinji." He said. "Just… no."

Shinji sighed. "Fine. She's completely disorganised in everything except her beer and her job, and the penguin does more work around the apartment than she does." He clarified. "Happy?"

"Man, we're lucky that Shinji has no idea." Toji grinned. "Right Kensuke?"

"Yeah, he's no rival for us!" the bespectacled boy grinned, aiming his camera.

"Man, I wish I had a girlfriend like that!" Toji sighed.

"Who knows?" Shinji asked. "Maybe you have a shot."

Toji span around and grabbed Shinji's shoulders. "Ya think so?"

"Maybe." Shinji shrugged. "She's definitely single."

"And so are plenty of other beautiful women that will never go out with you." Kensuke reminded Toji, just in case he forgot his place in the universe.

* * *

Having a new teacher perform the Student-Teacher conferences was always disruptive for the class, especially when a well-loved and involved teacher like Takenaka was replaced by a distant man like Nakamura.

So, Shinji's parent-teacher conference went quickly. He was a straight-A student, only one incident of violence, mildly bullied, quiet, tries to socialise but has little contact with others outside his extremely small circle of friends.

Shinji wasn't that bothered.

He just kept on training.

* * *

Textbooks claimed Second Impact was a catastrophe which resulted from a meteorite crashing down on earth.

In reality, Second Impact was caused by the first angel, Adam, in Antarctica.

NERV existed to prevent a probable Third Impact from occurring.

Shinji had pretty much figured that out already.

* * *

Shinji stood in his fathers- Commander Ikari's office.

It was impressive.

That was its purpose- it was meant to intimidate people.

Gendo Ikari sat at his desk with the wall of windows behind him. The light from the Geofront shone through, blinding his guest and becoming a silhouette.

The low ceiling and the wide walls only amplified to the effect.

"Shinji." Gendo said. "Tomorrow, Captain Katsuragi and Dr. Akagi will embark on a mission of utmost importance and secrecy." He told him. "I want you to go with them."

Shinji nodded. "Yes sir." He said. "What are my orders?"

* * *

The mission was underhanded.

It was political.

It was morally wrong.

It would be tricky.

But Shinji could see how his father gained the rank of Commander.

The plan could go wrong at a thousand places, but there were back-up plans after back-up plans for ever foreseeable scenario.

There was no room for snags.

All Shinji had to do was perform better than a human was capable of.

Shinji liked a challenge.

It's where he thrived.

A Spartan's home was the battlefield.

* * *

That night, Shinji Ikari dreamt.

He rarely dreamt.

Spartans aren't exactly bred for dreaming, but he dreamt it.

In the dream, he was a much weaker boy, cowering, shorter, no muscle, no discipline.

He was in a small, wooden boat in the middle of a stormy sea.

Ramiel was there.

It floated through the wind and rain towards them.

The other passenger on the boat was Gendo Ikari.

He stood up in the boat, picked up a harpoon, and jabbed the spike against the singing blue crystal.

Shinji woke up very confused.

* * *

Shinji didn't shave that morning.

As he understood it, most fourteen year old boys didn't shave, but he was developed for his age.

The amount of stubble on his face was almost unnoticeable, but it added a subtle effect that made him look older.

He looked older than he actually was normally- some people had mistaken him for an eighteen-year old on the street.

Now, he looked like he was barely twenty.

Now to don the black suit that NERV Agents wore.

* * *

Misato left her bedroom that morning in a very professional manner.

Most unusual.

She seemed surprised to see Shinji.

She was aware that he was coming with her, right?

"Where's Shinji?" she asked, eyebrows lowering into a glare.

Shinji raised an eyebrow and lowered his sunglasses.

"Holy shit." Misato swore, her eyebrows shooting up into her hair. "Are you sure you're only fourteen?"

Well, if it was enough to throw Misato off, then Shinji was pretty sure he'd pass scrutiny over in Old Tokyo.

* * *

It was a high-society event, or certainly set out to be one.

"We'd like to thank you all for taking time out of your bust schedules to attend the demonstration of our new product that we at Japan Heavy Chemicals Industries are so proud of." The man at the stand announced.

Captain Katsuragi and Doctor Akagi sat at the table as Shinji stood at the back of the room with the rest of security.

Shinji glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.

All trained professionals.

All protecting their own charges.

Not unified.

That made Shinji's job a lot easier.

All the guests were milling around the tables, but avoiding the NERV table like the plague.

So, everyone here is against NERV.

Hostile territory, but with no hostiles.

Boring.

Akagi raised her hand to ask a question.

"According to our earlier briefing, this unit is equipped with an internal nuclear reactor, correct?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yes, this is one of our products most distinguished features." The man at the stand said. Shinji didn't have a name for him. "One-hundred-and-fifty days of consecutive operating power is assured."

"But from a safety perspective, isn't incorporating a nuclear reactor into a weapon designed for hand-to-hand combat risky?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. Was this what Jet Alone was actually about?

"It's better than a weapon that will only work when a specific child is inside it." The man chuckled.

"But at least the Zords have a pilot." Ritsuko countered. "In an emergency there could be a problem with the remote control."

"But at least it's more humane than a system that induces great mental stress and causes mental instability in the child that uses it."

Mental stress? Was that supposed to be one of the side-effects?

"There's still the issue of manual control." Ritsuko insisted.

"I believe that it is far safer than a weapon that goes out of control and runs wild." The man smirked, holding up a file marked –NERV: Top Secret.-

An image of the Dragonzord's attack on Sachiel appeared on the projector behind him. "A weapon that cannot be controlled is utter nonsense." He shrugged with a smile. "It's like a woman in hysterics! Unmanageable!"

The crowd laughed, more at Ritsuko than at the joke.

"That's what our Rangers are for." Ritsuko replied confidently before Shinji could defend his machine.

"What, you're not going to say that science and the human heart can tame the machine beast?" the man laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, of course I am serious." Ritsuko replied.

"Because NERV depends on something as unreliable as the human heart, you've allowed a loss of control such as what we saw." The man stated. "That's why the UN had to approve of that massive supplementary budget. As a result, over 20,000 people in several countries are starving." The man smiled. "On top of which, on top of it being a critical incident, the causes of which are still unknown? I wish that you would at least fulfill that much of your responsibilities."

Shinji raised his hand. "I envy you." The man continued, ignoring the security detail. "NERV is protected by a super-legal act that allows you to avoid responsibility."

"That doesn't matter." Ritsuko countered. "The fact remains that only NERV's Rangers and Zords have the ability to defeat the enemy."

"You mean the AT-field?" the man smirked. "That's just a matter of time as well. NERV's day in the sun will not last forever. Yes, you sir." The man finished, moving onto the security guard that suddenly had an interest in advanced science.

"What evidence is there to suggest that the Zord was out of control?" Shinji asked. "To me it looks like the pilot was just crazy."

"Well, that would be because the pilot performed very poorly before the Zord went berserk." The man replied. "In fact, the document goes onto say that this was the pilot's first time inside the Zord." He laughed. "You cannot deny the fact that it was extremely unprofessional to place a fourteen-year-old boy with no combat experience into a weapon capable of levelling a city with no prior training."

More laughter.

* * *

There was a break time between the open forum and the actual demonstration.

Shinji took this time to check out his rival.

The Jet Alone.

It was big.

It was white, armoured like a mecha from those cartoons before Second Impact. The souls of its feet were red, and its body blue.

At the top of its head was a crown.

It looked just like…

In fact…

It was.

...huh.

* * *

"We will now begin the Jet Alone test." The man announced. "There is absolutely no danger. Please watch comfortably from behind that window."

"Hey, Ritsuko." Misato hissed as the techies began to run through the Jet Alone's walk cycle. "Doesn't it look just like one of those gundams?"

"They wanted something crowd pleasing, since the Zords look like the giant robots from the old Super Sentai shows." Ritsuko replied as the Jet Alone stepped from its case.

The crash of giant mechanical foot hitting concrete was impressive, to say the least.

"Move left leg!"

It walked.

"Hey, I guess they did have something to be proud of." Misato smirked as the computers began to beep.

* * *

Pandemonium descended upon them quickly and quietly, as flashing lights and warning screens.

"What's wrong?"

"The pressure inside the reactor is increasing!"

"The temperature of the primary coolant system is also rising!"

"Open the release valve. Insert the neutron-deceleration fluid."

"No effect! The pump output isn't increasing!"

"Not good. Shut off the power, emergency stop!"

"Abort signal transmission confirmed. It's not accepting it! The radio circuit is being blocked!"

"It's out of control!"

"That's… impossible…"

* * *

Shinji pushed half a dozen panicking people out of the way of the Jet Alone's massive foot as it smashed through the command centre with little effort.

"The machine is as badly behaved as the man who built it…" Misato smirked, dusting herself off as Shinji saluted.

"Captain Katsuragi!" he shouted as the meltdown sirens began to flare.

She nodded, turning to the man in command of the situation. "The danger of a meltdown is imminent, no matter how impossible you say it is." She warned.

"Under the circumstances, our only option is to wait for it to stop." The man replied as Shinji ran a hand down the line of the wreckage and checked the sun's position.

"It'll go straight through several residential areas before reaching the ocean." Shinji announced after a quick calculation. "Unless it explodes some time within it's 150 days of operational life."

"There is a chance of its subroutines forcing it to stop." The man shouted.

"Sir! The chances of that happening are 0.00000002%!"

"Well we are not waiting for a miracle!" Misato shouted. "How do we stop it manually?"

"We've tried everything." The man sighed.

"Not everything." Misato corrected. "What is the password?"

"The password to delete all programming is top secret." The man told her. "I can't authorise it- I'm not allowed to tell you."

"THEN GET IT!"

"Captain Katsuragi!" Shinji shouted, saluting as phone calls were made. "Requesting permission to destroy the Jet Alone!"

"Denied." Misato ordered. "We don't want a nuclear explosion."

"Ma'am!" Shinji saluted again. "Requesting permission to jam its legs to stop its advance."

"Can you do that?" Misato asked. "Without the Zord?"

Shinji nodded.

"Then go ahead."

Shinji lifted up his shirt and grabbed his Power Morpher.

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME! DRAGONZORD!**_"

* * *

Shinji sprinted towards the Jet Alone at a speed of fifty-two miles per hour, his bones and muscles grinding as he ran faster than he had ever done in his life.

"Holy shit!" one man shouted. "That's fa-"

The Green Ranger jumped four stories onto the back of the knee of the Jet Alone, then scrambled around to the side.

Jaws dropped as the Green Ranger pulled a grenade from his belt and rammed it into the knee joint before scrambling around and placing a similar charge on the other side.

_**KRAKOOM**_

The leg of the giant jammed up and shuddered under the blast that enveloped its knee. Shinji jumped onto the other leg and planted charges on the pistons in the knee again as the Jet Alone began to topple. He jumped down and began to destroy the joints in the ankles.

The Jet Alone froze.

Destroying the joints would normally make it fall over.

Shinji knew where to place the charges so the pistons would melt together and refuse to move.

_\_ "You're doing good!" _\_ Misato shouted into his ear. _\_ "You can get inside it through the front port on the chest! The password to delete everything is 'Hope'!" _\_

Shinji stepped back from the Jet Alone and leapt onto its knee, rebounding to reach the door. He tore the entrance open and heat blazed from the opening.

He slammed a fist against his chest to activate the Dragon Shield before jumping in.

* * *

The Dragon Shield was a device on Shinji's chest that automatically focused the AT-field of his suit to create a forcefield around him while he focused his attention on other tasks.

In theory, this meant that he could input the password into the computer and shut the Jet Alone down. If that failed, he could force the cooling rods into place, all without dying from radiation poisoning.

However, Shinji knew that the hacker had done a good job.

He put Ritsuko's program into the machine himself.

So, he imputed the useless password a couple of time to look good, then set up the last of the explosives.

Then he checked the time on his helmet's HUD.

Ten minutes before Ritsuko's program forced it to go critical.

Shinji sighed and pushed the first rod into place.

He was ordered to be impressive, but first he has to look like he _tried _to stop the Jet Alone from destroying itself.

* * *

In the end, Shinji didn't destroy the Jet Alone.

Doing so would have compromised NERV's cover.

That said, everyone was now terrified of the Jet Alone, including the creators. The machine went berserk, its legs have been completely shut down.

And NERV saved the day without a single casualty.

Not only that, but it was an incredible show of just what the Power Rangers are capable of, and what all that tax money is going to.

No one was complaining of the high budget any more.

* * *

Gendo leant back in his seat as the recording ended.

The whole battle, if it could be called that, was very impressive.

"Send a copy of this recording to the Over The Rainbow." Gendo ordered. "I want the Red Ranger to watch it."

"She is very prideful." Fuyutsuki commented. "Kaji commented that she didn't take the Green Ranger's earlier prowess that well."

"Why do you think I want her to see this?" Commander Ikari asked. "The boy sees command as absolute."

The Vice Commander raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't the Red Ranger hold the rank of captain?"

"Four ranks above Sergeant-First-Class Ikari." Gendo nodded with a smile. "After her actions leading to the incapacitation of the Jet Alone, I do believe that Misato is due a promotion, do you agree?"

Fuyutsuki smirked.

"If so, then your son definitely deserves one."

* * *

Sergeant Major Shinji Ikari left the apartment as Major Katsuragi proceeded to get drunk.

Kensuke was milling around Shinji, completely ecstatic about his classmate's promotion.

Shinji was less pleased than his classmate, and began to brief him on the events of the previous evening where Misato decided to drink him under the table to celebrate. Unsuccessfully, but it was a close contest.

"But you're really lucky, ya know?" Kensuke asked him after his rant about her. "I mean, she shows a side of her around you that she wouldn't show anyone else. That basically means you're a family."

Shinji thought about it.

The Spartans always treat each other differently when people were watching.

* * *

Asuka kicked the metal next to the TV Screen.

"How the hell?" she shouted. "Fourteen-year-old boys shouldn't be able to do that! Even _in_ the suit!"

"Well, he was trained." Kaji chuckled. "Same place where you spent six months in a few years back, if I recall."

Asuka froze.

_The Green Ranger was a Spartan?_

"What's his name?" she asked her guardian.

"Ikari." Kaji chuckled, amused by the girl's sudden change in tone. "The commander's son-"

"His number." Asuka demanded. "What's his ID number?"

Kaji raised an eyebrow, then flicked open the file. "Shinji-108."

"From Unit 01?" Asuka asked.

"Oh, you know him?" Kaji asked, leaning against the wall.

Asuka shook her head. "I knew John-117, his buddy." She said. "_Everyone_ knew 117, and his crony 108 by proxy. Those two practically ran the place."

She scowled, turning back to the TV. "He's coming to the ship soon, right?" she asked her guardian."To deliver some stuff for the Tyrannosaurus?"

"Yeah." Kaji nodded, putting the file away.

"Can you send a message to him?" Asuka asked. "I want to see just what he's capable of."

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

DUN. DUN. DUUUUN!

Yeah. The relationship between Asuka and Shinji is gonna be Fu~un.


	7. Enter Asuka

Asuka shows up in this one. =D

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**May 2010**_

"_SPARTANS!" Chief Mendez shouted with a young girl with red hair in a tight ponytail stood beside him. "This is Cadet Asuka-T02. She will be training with you for the next six months."_

_Shinji glared. Another temporary cadet trying to run with the Spartans. The last one only lasted a few weeks before begging to leave._

_It wasn't that the Spartans abused the cadets. They welcomed them, tried to treat them as part of the group as best as they could._

_Problem was that the Spartans had been training together constantly for almost six years now. They knew each other._

_They knew each others strength. They knew each other's weaknesses._

_They knew what each other liked and didn't like. They knew how each other thought._

_They knew what roles each Spartan could do. _

_They didn't know the temporary cadet._

_They didn't know what roles to give her without compromising the mission._

"_T02 will rotate through the units as we decide, starting with Unit 01." Mendez continued. "She's not as strong or as fast as you, but she's intelligent in her own way. Your mission over this week is to learn how to use her effectively, and welcome her as part of the team."_

_T02 didn't like that order. She wanted to be the one giving Spartans orders._

_John bumped Shinji's shoulder. Calm down._

_It was reassuring to know your teammates were looking after you when you couldn't look behind you and check._

_Shinji shrugged. Thank you._

"_T02, go join Unit 01." Mendez ordered the girl. "Your next mission is simple." He continued as she ran over to Shinji and stood in front of him. "Units 02 and 04 shall join with Unit 01 and undergo course 172. Tango Company will be your opponents. Units 05 through to 25 are to run to the classroom. Dismissed." _

_Shinji frowned. Unit 03 had been going for separate training a lot recently, but that wasn't what bothered him._

_Shinji hated escort missions._

_He hated Tango Company._

_They hated the Spartans._

_And he had to deliver a package against enemies that actually wanted to hurt them._

_A package who wasn't aware of her position as an escort._

_Keeping her safe was not going to be easy._

_

* * *

_

_Asuka charged forward as soon as the bell rang. _

_Kelly rushed forward and tackled the girl as a gunshot rang._

_Asuka looked down in horror as Kelly got the girl to her feet._

_Shinji let out a sigh of relief._

_They weren't using live rounds this time._

_Not yet at least._

"_CHARGE!" John shouted, aiming their battle rifles loaded with blanks into the trees, firing as they ran for the building that was meant to provide cover._

_

* * *

_

_John looked at his team. Nine Spartans, including him, and one little girl._

_She'd recovered from the shock at least, but that wasn't the problem._

_Her hair was too long and bright._

_She clearly took care of it and had great pride. Kelly often said that a girl's hair was her life, and she'd fought tooth and nail to keep it during the initial haircuts._

_T02 was not going to let go of it._

_She was a walking target._

_Shinji grabbed the girl and rubber her head into the dirt. "HEY!" she screamed, trying to fight him off._

_He let her go and grabbed his gun, glaring at the girl._

_She realised that she'd just exposed their position._

_But that boy had no right to do that to her hair._

_John frowned. That girl was far too proud._

"_Five teams." John decided. "Shinji and Sam, red. Kelly and Linda, green. Asuka and James, alpha. Fhajad and Fred, bravo. Kohta with me, blue." _

_T02 looked at the European Boy who crouched next to her, gripping his rifle calmly._

"_Red will cover alpha, green to cover bravo." John continued, tilting his head, as if to crick his neck. "Kohta and I will clear a route, go on our command."_

_Asuka nodded, wiping the worst of the mud from her hair._

_She was unhappy that Shinji was guarding her back._

_Good._

_Escorting the package was only their secondary order._

_Hazing comes first._

_

* * *

_

_James knew that the Tango Troops were behind them._

_He also knew that neither Shinji nor Sam had taken any action against them._

_This was it._

_He braced himself for the butt of the rifle against his head._

_

* * *

_

_Asuka woke up tied to a chair, water in her face._

_With half a dozen adult soldiers standing around her._

_James was tied up in the corner, badly beaten._

_Asuka could tell that he didn't get those wounds resisting capture, James was knocked out before Asuka was._

_These guys… _

_They beat a tied-up nine-year old kid that badly?_

_Why?_

_Her head was tilted back and a sack was shoved over her face as someone forced her jaw open._

_Then came the water._

_It was freezing._

_They were drowning her._

_Air. AIR! _

_NEED AIR!_

_She fought against her restraints like hell._

_**AIR!**_

_

* * *

_

_Shinji and Sam arrived at the brow of the hill that gave a good view over the building that served as the Tango company prison for this game._

_The two Spartans used the scopes of their rifles and checked out what was going on inside the building._

_It wasn't good.  
_

_Sam furrowed his brow. "I can't believe we had to let them do that to James, but now they're water-boarding her?" he spat in disgust. "They really aren't happy that we beat them all the time, are they?"_

"_This isn't hazing anymore." Shinji decided, changing the ammunition of his battle rifle. "Let's go."_

_

* * *

_

_**THUCKTHUCKTHUCK**_

_Screaming._

_No more water._

_Air._

_Someone's fighting._

_Air._

_The fighting stops._

_Air._

_Light._

"_You okay?" a boy asked her._

_Air._

"_She's in shock." The boy said, turning to the other. "How's James?"_

_Hands free._

_Air._

"_Broken bones all over…" another voice whispered. "Damn…"_

_Air._

_The boy nodded. "I'll take Asuka, you take James. Let's go." _

_Air._

"_Did we have to use Live Rounds, Shinji?"_

_Being picked up. Over the boy's shoulders._

"_No-one does that to one of us." The boy carrying her said. "She's a pretty girl too. Remember Peru?"_

_The other boy fired another shot into someone who wasn't dead yet. "Good call." He told the boy carrying Asuka._

_Air…_

* * *

_**2015**_

Shinji put down the list of requests the Red Ranger had for their meeting tomorrow.

It was outrageous, but all easily doable.

The main point was that the Red Ranger wanted him to show up in Ranger gear.

Shinji picked up his phone.

There were six numbers on it: Misato's, Kensuke's, Toji's, NERV's, a dead friend's, and his fathers.

He'd never called his father before.

He'd been instructed not to do so unless he had a reason to call.

Well, now he had a reason to call.

* * *

Gendo Ikari picked up the phone.

He didn't say anything, he just let the caller say what they had to say.

_\_ "The Red Ranger is trying to assert dominance over me and NERV." _\_

"Is that all you called about?" Gendo replied. "Don't waste my time with what I already know."

_\_ "I called to ask your permission to lead a counter-operation." _\_

Gendo raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

_\_ "Sir." _\_ Shinji nodded. _\_ "Chief Mendez taught us that the key to politics in warfare is the game of 'Silly Beggers'; or being uncooperative without actually obstructing the political enemy." _\_ he explained. _\_ "I wish to make an equally outrageous counter-move in response to the Red Ranger's demands." _\_

Gendo listened to the boy's suggestion.

It was interesting.

Basic, but the boy showed promise.

He felt… pride? As a father?

"Do as you will Sergeant Major." Gendo told his son. "You have my permission."

* * *

Shinji grinned, pumping his fist as he made another phonecall. "Toji!" he shouted when the boy on the other end picked up. "Remember that favour you owe me?"

* * *

"An MIG-55 D transport helicopter!" the Green Ranger shouted, holding his video camera to his helmet. "I'd never have had the chance to fly in one of these if it wasn't for this!" he turned to face the boy sitting next to him. "Man, this is what friends are for, right Green Ranger?"

The Green Ranger sighed. Opposite him, the Green Ranger grabbed the Green Ranger's helmet. "Knock it off Aida!" she shouted. "We're here on a mission for Shinji, remember?"

The Green Ranger rubbed his head. "Yes President… I mean Green Ranger…"

* * *

"Whoa!" The Green Ranger shouted. "Four aircraft carriers and five battleships!"

The two other Green Rangers pulled him back into the aircraft. "Knock it off!" they shouted in unison.

"But… the pride of the UN Navy!" the Green Ranger shouted. "Over The Rainbow!"

* * *

Asuka looked through her binoculars into the landing gyrocopter.

Three Green Rangers.

Not good.

She turned around and walked into the ship.

Ikari had called her out.

He was playing her.

He really was one of those kids from that place.

Now the question is: Are one of those three the real Green Ranger, or will he come from another route?

Because he will come.

No fun for him if he doesn't come.

* * *

"AWESOME!" The Green Ranger shouted once he was on deck. "AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME THIS IS WAY TO AWESOME! REAL MEN SHED TEARS OVER THIS KIND OF THING!"

"Major Katsuragi!" the Naval Captain shouted, approaching the woman and the three Green Rangers. "What kind of stunt is this?"

"The Green Ranger's playing a game with the Red Ranger." Misato sighed. "It's how they say hello."

* * *

Asuka growled.

Her plan for her big entrance was already down the drain, but that much was to be expected.

So right now, it's a game to see who finds who first- her or Ikari.

She walked into the changing room and locked the door behind her.

She tied her long her into a pony tail she opened the door of her locker.

Naval servicewoman' uniform.

Should buy her a few dozen minutes to avoid detection at any rate.

She pulled off her sundress to get changed.

Just as it covered her head, she felt cold metal against her throat.

A harpoon.

And he waited until she blinded herself while changing.

Definitely Shinji-108.

Still, she had an ace up her sleeve.

Or, more specifically, a Power Morpher in her dress.

She slowly brought the rest of her dress over her head, hands gripping the machine inside as she slowly turned to look at her opponent.

He was wearing a wetsuit that did little to hide his muscle.

His swimming goggles did, however, hide his face.

Asuka knew she couldn't take him in a normal fight.

Maybe as the Red Ranger if she got the first hit in.

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

"_**TYRANNOSAURUS!**_"

* * *

The aircraft carrier shook.

"They wouldn't…" Misato whispered in horror as she realised what was happening inside the Over The Rainbow.

* * *

The Dragon Dagger parried the Power Sword.

It was a one-handed blade, European in design.

Worse than that, he knew that hair.

"T02." The Green Ranger nodded.

"Eins-Acht." The Red Ranger replied. "I see you finally stopped being Ein-Siebzehn's lapdog."

"We're in Japan, do you have to count in German?" Green asked Red, applying more force to his parry.

Asuka glared behind her helmet. A knife in reverse grip has a power advantage over a one-handed sword any day, but Shinji had grown huge over the past five years.

She couldn't match him in strength.

She couldn't match him in combat experience either- Asuka had been trained as an academic genius first, soldier second.

Perhaps she could beat him in agility?

"We're not in Japan _yet!_" she said as she sprang a knee up, but he caught her thigh before her leg rose three inches.

The Ranger suit shortened a human beings reaction time to a quarter, but those reactions were still impossible for a normal human in the suit.

Are the Spartans really psychic?

Well, there was one area where she could definitely beat him.

She held out her hand and launched him through the wall using her AT-field.

* * *

Shinji threw himself in the air and landed on the battleship closest to the Over The Rainbow and began scanning for the Red Ranger.

She'd depowered and was changing into the naval uniform very quickly.

By the time Shinji found her, she had left the changing room.

She was better at using her AT-field than he was.

_Much better_.

So why did she sacrifice that advantage by leaving her suit?

Shinji hopped over the water onto the Over The Rainbow, landing on the deck and deactivating his suit.

He tore off his goggles and pulled out of his drysuit to reveal the gray trousers and white vest underneath.

Asuka may be hiding with her hair tucked inside a cap, but she didn't know Shinji's face.

It was cat-and-mouse.

Shinji was good at this.

"There you are." Misato told him, grabbing his shoulder. "What the hell's going on?"

Shinji saluted. "Major. The introductions between the Red Ranger and I are going as planned, but are still underway. The others aren't needed to still wear the decoy costumes."

With that, he turned and ran along the deck, leaving the dumbfounded Major behind.

This game was too good to miss out on.

* * *

Asuka frowned at the image that Kaji had given her from his NERV file.

The Green Ranger she met earlier was definitely a Spartan, but his jaw didn't quite match the photo she had.

It was slightly wider, older.

Come to think of it, his entire build was like that of a post-pubescent, not someone her own age.

She checked the image again. If she had to estimate an age, ignoring everything she already knew about him, she'd say he looked seventeen. Maybe.

Almost like an older brother, but that was impossible.

The one she met was Shinji Ikari, no doubt about it.

Did those last five years of training speed him through puberty?

She folded the paper and put it inside her jacket pocket.

* * *

Shinji looked up the stairs and saw a young woman walking down the grated staircase.

That build.

Wearing a cap and jacket in this heat.

That's Shinji's target.

He saluted. "Captain Soryu!" he said, playing the part of the respectful soldier perfectly.

"At ease." She said, walking down the steps. "You do realise that most soldiers do not accept a fourteen-year old girl as military officer?"

Shinji didn't.

He never had that problem before.

To him, command was absolute.

This woman was his superior officer, but his actions were permitted as they were teammates.

Hazing was important when a new member joins the team.

His last move failed.

She's leering at him from the top of the flight of stairs.

She was hazing _him_ now, and it's hard to breathe under that glare.

No, that's not it.

His throat's actually being squeezed.

AT-field to choke?

Even _outside_ the suit?

She was _good_.

He pulled the gun from the back of his pants and pointed it at Asuka.

She recoiled in fear? Surprise? Something?

Shinji pulled the trigger.

Asuka ducked.

Her hat now sported a bullet hole.

He tossed the gun aside and ran up the staircase.

She recovered and dove out of the way, but Shinji reacted in time to catch her shoulder with one hand and pull her back towards him.

_Your move._

* * *

Unfortunately, the move was made for her.

Marines and navy personnel rushed into the corridor and pointed guns at the man who was attacking the First Child.

"HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!" one man shouted, gun trained on Shinji Ikari's back. "STEP AWAY FROM THE GIRL NOW!"

Shinji ignored them, focusing only on the girl in front of him.

What's she thinking?

Is she thankful of everyone coming to her rescue?

She didn't call them here by screaming, even though she had plenty of cause to assume sexual assault.

No, they came in response to Shinji's gunshot.

She didn't plan this.

How will she use this?

"Step away from her NOW!"

* * *

A bunch of sailors charged into the stairwell and pointed guns at Ikari-108.

"HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!" a Chief Petty Officer shouted, gun pointed at the boy's head. "STEP AWAY FROM THE GIRL NOW!"

Girl? How many times did Asuka have to remind these bozo's who outranked who here?

Groan. Never mind them, what's this freak gonna do?

He better not think that she called them. It was his fault for using a gun.

What kind of idiot uses a gun against their teammate?

Granted, he wasn't aiming for her, but still…

What were his reactions outside the suit?

Asuka decided to test them.

"Step away from her NOW!"

Shinji glanced away from her and she drove a knee into his groin.

Shinji deflected the worst of the kick with his own leg, which gave three of the marines a perfect opening to rush him.

Or so they thought.

* * *

Misato opened the door to the ships hold an hour later. "How many times do you intend to get yourself arrested like this?" she asked the prisoner inside.

"I did go quietly Major Katsuragi." Shinji nodded. "How's Petty Officer Smith?"

"He'll live." Misato sighed, opening the door for him. "You really need to learn to hold back more."

Shinji picked the second lock of his handcuffs with the broken hinges of the first lock as he stood up.

"You're lucky Asuka was so understanding with you." Misato sighed. "She said that she dared you to shoot her hat off, then you ran after her before everyone came in."

Shinji considered the situation from her angle. "That would technically be true Major Katsuragi." He said. "Yes, that's exactly what happened."

* * *

She led him into the dining room where Asuka, Hikari, Kensuke and Toji were sitting with a man Shinji didn't recognise.

"KAJI?" Misato shouted as the man waved at her with a smile.

Alarm bells rang in Shinji's head. "Ryoji Kaji?" he asked.

"Oh, you know me?" Kaji asked him, standing up.

Brown hair. Ponytail. Right

Shinji owed Kelly a favour.

He rammed his fist into the bastard's gut, knocking him to the ground.

Shinji pushed him over and got ready to smash his smug face in.

Someone shouted something, but Shinji didn't care.

You didn't abandon the team.

You just didn-

* * *

_**2003**_

_**The aftermath of Second Impact.**_

_Hell._

_Cities were buried under tidal waves._

_Disease, starvation, war… every year, another horseman rode until one day, three billion people were dead._

_Kaji's parents were two of them._

_He had to look after his brother Goro._

_Orphans were everywhere._

_The government rounded as many of them as they could, but what could they do with them?_

_The Spartan program hadn't begun yet, so they dumped them in mass shelters._

_Hundreds and thousands of people in these shelters._

_There wasn't enough supplies to go around._

_People were brawling just for a space on the floor to sleep._

_So Kaji gathered some kids and escaped._

_They stole to survive._

_But everywhere was another group's turf._

_Pickings were slim at best._

_One day, they found a military base._

_Their security wasn't all that great._

_The kids took little at a time to avoid suspicion._

_Only what they needed, nothing more._

_Kaji was the oldest. _

_He was the biggest._

_He wasn't as sneaky. _

_He got caught._

* * *

_They beat him._

_He didn't talk._

_They broke his bones._

_He didn't talk._

_The shoved his head in freezing water._

_He didn't talk._

_They put a gun to his head._

_Kaji was broken._

_He was terrified._

_He talked._

* * *

_They went to the location he gave._

_Kaji knocked out one of them._

_He ran._

_He ran to the hideout._

_He ran to warn his friends._

_His brother._

_His family._

_He ran to warn them that they were coming._

_He ran to warn them that they were going to die if they didn't run too._

* * *

_He got there just as they were leaving._

_He got there just as the sun went down, surrounded by the corpses._

_He got there just as his brother died._

_He got there too late._

_He broke down._

_He was too late._

_He betrayed them._

_He lived because they died._

_He screamed._

* * *

_What if Shinji had been Kaji?_

_What if he was broken?_

_What if he betrayed the team?_

_What if he ran to save them?_

_What if he stood alone amongst the corpses?_

_What if he was the last one?_

* * *

He'd suffered enough.

"_Kelly's alive._" Shinji whispered, lowering his shaking fist. "_She forgives you._"

Kaji's eyes widened.

Shinji saw hope and fear in those eyes.

He was right.

The two of them stood to their feet.

"Thank you." Kaji told him, turning around to walk into the corridor as he wiped blood from his lips.

His shoulders were shaking as he closed the door behind him.

"Kaji..?" Asuka asked, before turning to Shinji. "What the hell?" she shouted, grabbing Shinji's collar. "What did he ever do to you?"

"Nothing." Shinji admitted. "Kelly-087 was a friend of his, wanted me to pass a message on."

Misato gently thumped Shinji's shoulder. "Eeh, the guy deserved it." She laughed.

He flinched from the gesture.

No, it was a coincidence.

Misato stared absently at the steel portal with which Kaji left through.

* * *

Kaji cried, smiling as relief flushed through his body.

"Kaji?"

Asuka.

Kaji wiped his fingers and thumb through his face and rubbed his nose so she wouldn't notice. "Hey, Asuka." He grinned. "So, how're things between you and the Green Ranger?"

"Why'd he hit you like that?" Asuka asked him.

"It's how real men say hello." He lied with a smirk. "So, who won?"

Asuka leant on the railings and pouted. "Dunno yet." She said. "He got arrested, sure, but it was on _his_ terms." She growled. "That IDIOT!" she shouted. "He hasn't been here two hours and he's already got the entire boat under his control!"

Kaji chuckled, then thought of something. "Hey, you trained with him for a while, right?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She shuddered. "The kids at that place were absolute war machines."

Kaji frowned. "Did you know a girl called Kelly?" he asked.

"Huh?" Asuka asked. "Kelly-087? Yeah, I knew her."

Kaji smiled, muttering a silent prayer of thanks for the first time his charge's eidetic memory wasn't used against him. "Was she… happy?"

"What, was she your sister or something?" Asuka asked him, curious about his sudden interest.

"No, no not really." Kaji smiled. "Anyway, you just gonna let him think he's better than you?" he asked, appealing to the girl's pride. "Come on, you haven't lost yet."

"You know what?" Asuka realised. "I haven't." she turned around and slapped the man on the back. "Thanks Kaji! I'll make sure he knows who the best is!"

Kaji forced a chuckle as the girl ran off before turning back to the water.

* * *

Shinji wandered through the corridors of the Over The Rainbow, looking for the armoury.

"Hey, Ikari!"

Shinji turned around and dodged the fireball that Asuka launched from her power sword. "Come with me." She told him.

"Is that an order, Captain Soryu?" he asked her.

She sighed. "You are so straight laced, you know that?" she told him. "What if I said it wasn't?"

"I'd probably come anyway." Shinji shrugged, walking towards her. "So, where we headed?"

* * *

They were headed for a large aircraft carrier behind the Over The Rainbow- the one that carried the Tyrannosaurus.

"Not bad." Shinji admitted as Asuka lifted up the cloth covering the massive Zord.

"That's not all it is." Asuka bragged, leading Shinji under the massive tent where the Tyrannosaurus was resting in a pool of molten mercury. "This is the _real_ main body of the Megazord!" she bragged. "Your Dragonzord's synchronisation with the other Zords is nothing compared to the king of the dinosaurs!"

"I see." Shinji nodded. "So it would be more agile in combat."

"Damn right it is!" Asuka bragged. "This is the fastest Zord there is, right after the Sabre-Tooth-Tiger, but that little cat just doesn't have the power to back it up."

Shinji nodded. A more agile Zord would help, but he was concerned with the lack of upper body limbs the tyrannosaurus had compared to the Dragonzord. Of course, with Takenaka dead, they couldn't activate the Mastodon for fusion.

The ship shook.

"An underwater shockwave." Asuka realised. "Something nearby just exploded."

* * *

Asuka and Shinji rushed out to the side of the ship to see the starboard-most ship explode into purple flames.

"That's not normal." Shinji commented. "Looks we're under attack."

"An angel?" Asuka asked. "A real angel?"

Shinji realised at that second that Asuka, for all her skills and pride, hadn't yet fought a single angel.

She leered back to the Zord with a dog-like grin on her face. "Cha~ance." She smirked.

Shinji glared. "That captain… He's exceptionally prideful, isn't he?" he asked as another ship was destroyed. "He's not going to let Misato take command of this battle."

"And?" Asuka asked, pulling her Power Morpher from inside her dress.

"Meaning he's going to waste the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of navy personnel." Shinji snarled. "And he won't listen to us either, so our best chance is to kill that angel _before_ he realises that torpedoes don't work and half the fleet is dead."

Asuka held out her Morpher. "_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

"_**TYRANNOSAURUS!**_"

* * *

"So, the AT-field can't be penetrated by this kind of firepower…" Kaji muttered as the fleet began to die around him.

He glanced at the briefcase chained to his wrist.

He knew his orders…

He shook his head.

Those kids wouldn't die on him this time.

* * *

Shinji followed Asuka into the Tyrannosaurus' tent. "Can you take a Co-pilot?" he asked her.

"You've been inside a Zord cockpit, haven't you?" she asked him. "You know how much space they don't have!"

"Thing is, we're at sea, and the angel is an aquatic enemy." He told her. "Our best bet is for you to get close while I jump in and stab it to death."

Asuka humph'ed. "You just want the glory to yourself."

"If the Dragonzord was here instead of the Tyrannosaurus, you'd be the one jumping out and killing it. Oh, wait." He remembered. "I can control the Dragonzord from the outside. Can _you_ do that?"

She glared at him. "Whatever, it doesn't matter." She decided. "Come on, you can sit in the back and watch me kill it. You can witness my magnificent piloting up close!"

Asuka turned back, as if to glare at him. "Just don't distract me."

* * *

"That's weird…" Misato commented as the angel took down another ship. "It's almost as if the angel is _looking _for something…"

* * *

"An angel attack wasn't part of our deal." Kaji said into the phone.

_\_ "That's why you have a Zord with you." _\_ Gendo replied. _\_ "I even sent you my best Ranger as a reserve in case Germany's _wunderkind_ wasn't all I've been told she is. If worst comes to the worst, you can escape by yourself." _\_

Kaji sighed. "I know that." He said. It wasn't as if he hadn't had practice doing that already.

* * *

Shinji's first impression of being inside another Zord's cockpit?

It was small.

That said, however, the Dragonzord in Battle Mode's cockpit was larger than most, so perhaps he was just getting spoiled.

Asuka began performing to vocally initiate the subroutines in German, much like Lt. Ibuki, Hyuuga and Aoba did for Shinji back at NERV. Shinji made a mental note to learn how to do that himself.

Red sirens flashed. "What happened?" Shinji asked.

"Thought noise." Asuka growled. "I told you not to disturb me!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're thinking in Japanese, aren't you?" She snapped. "Think in German dammit!"

Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"You think in _languages?_" he asked.

That explained a _lot_ to both Rangers.

* * *

The Tyrannosaurus leapt into the air as the ship carrying it was destroyed by the angel. It landed on another ship as the cloth whipped around its body in the sea wind.

"Alright, get ready to jump." Asuka said.

"Which reminds me." Shinji told her. "There's an upgrade of some sort for you on the Over The Rainbow."

"What!" Asuka shouted. "What kind of upgrade?"

"Unknown." Shinji replied. "I wasn't paying attention then."

"Schiessen." Asuka swore, jumping to another ship as the cloth flapped away.

One more jump and she landed on the Over The Rainbow. A team of technicians quickly motioned her to maneuver onto a steel platform, where machinery and a team of helicopters swiftly equipped a set of fins to the Tyrannosaurus's tail, and propellers to its legs.

"Nice, we can go underwater now." Shinji nodded.

"Yeah." Asuka agreed, pushing the Tyrannosaurus into the water.

* * *

The angel, Gaghiel, was beige and vaguely fish-like, in the same way that Pen-pen was vaguely chicken-like.

Still, the aquatic gear really helped the Tyrannosaurus swim through the water, but with one problem:

_No weapons._

The angel was limited in its attack too, but it didn't exactly seem that interested in the Zord for once.

No, what it wanted was something on one of the ships.

That, or it thought that the Zord wasn't a threat due to its low attack capabilities and just wanted to kill all the humans first.

"Don't you have any weapons you can use underwater?" Shinji asked Asuka.

"Well, claws are out, we can't jump, and, oh yeah, _fire breath doesn't work without oxygen to ignite!_" Asuka hissed at him.

"Then that just leaves the original plan." Shinji said. "You get close, I jump out and stab it to death."

"Can you breathe underwater in that?" Asuka asked.

"No." Shinji shrugged. "I'll just have to be quick."

Asuka glared, her hands shaking.

She _hated_ being trapped underwater.

She didn't want to drown again.

"It's core's in the mouth." Shinji pointed as the angel charged for them. "Ram it!"

Asuka had a better idea.

The angel's gaping, fanged mouth opened as it loomed towards them.

She let the angel bite down on her Zord, ignoring Shinji's warnings to dodge..

They were trapped, quickly being crushed… and the angel's core was wide open.

With a grin hidden under her visor, Asuka lunged, and her Zord surged forward, biting down hard on the core with its progressive fangs.

The Gaghiel screamed and shook, trying to spit them out, but Asuka kept a firm grip on the core, struggling to keep it within the jaws of her Zord until it finally gave up and shattered.

With a final, echoing wail, the angel died.

* * *

Asuka laughed. "So much for that Mosasaur!" she laughed. "Who needs your help, huh?"

Shinji smiled awkwardly behind the helmet, but then he noticed the sound.

The better idea won the battle, but it came with a price.

When Gaghiel bit down on the Tyrannosaurus, its teeth left holes in its body.

Particularly in the cockpit.

Water was flooding in.

"Alright, don't panic." Shinji told her. "It's not a submarine. It can take water as you surface as long as you're not an idiot about it."

Asuka was hyperventilating.

There was no issue of running out of oxygen in the cockpit.

The problem was water pushing the oxygen out.

The problem was that the only one capable of moving the Zord had been waterboarded.

She was terrified of drowning.

Shinji knew how she felt. He'd been tortured more than a few times himself to train himself for torture resistance, but not Asuka.

She got the full blast of it when she was nine years old.

All the counselling in the world could cure her fear of water.

They could make her swim.

They could make her dive.

They could make her pilot a submarine.

But they would never erase that fear.

That _need_ for air.

He needed her to calm down.

He only knew one way to do that.

* * *

"Why the hell did you just hit me?"

Shinji backed off. "You were panicking, so I-"

"Shut it!" Asuka growled, rubbing the back of her shoulder.

He didn't hit her hard, fair enough, but it still made her jump.

Damned Spartan.

* * *

"Well, that was an eventful journey!" Kaji laughed as he placed the steel briefcase on Gendo's desk. "Was it caused by this, I wonder?" he asked, opening the case.

Inside was a black Power Morpher with an unclear symbol emblazoned on the coin.

"It has already been restored to this." Kaji stated. "I'm certain it's still alive. That is the point of the Instrumentality Project of Mankind, isn't it?"

Gendo took the Morpher. "Taken from the first Ranger ever, ADAM." he said. "You may leave."

"Actually, I was hoping you could point me in the right direction about something." Kaji said. "Seeing as I didn't, ya know, use that to restore my own Ranger Powers?"

Gendo raised an eyebrow. "The SPARTAN project." Kaji clarified. "She's there, isn't she?"

* * *

"Man, I'm glad I won't have to deal with her again." Kensuke sighed. "What a total-"

"Aida!" Hikari shouted. "Don't be rude!"

"Hey, I'm just glad I'm not Shinji." Toji laughed, patting his mate on the shoulder. "You have to _work_ with her!"

Shinji smirked, then raised two fingers to eye level.

Then he pointed them to the front of the class.

"Aw hell naw." Toji and Kensuke groaned in unison.

"My name's Asuka Langley Soryu!" Asuka greeted the class. "Charmed, huh?"

_

* * *

_

_**May 2010**_

_Chief Mendez glared across his table at the handcuffed Shinji-108_.

_"I'm having difficulty understanding your actions." The Chief told them. "I can understand your anger at your teammate's treatment, but you killed two soldiers, injuring four others."_

_"I killed two people that wanted to hurt the team." Shinji stated. "My orders were to welcome T02 as part of the team and to treat her as such. She is a weak link and needs to be protected. A girl without the same experience as us needs to be protected sir, not tortured."_

_"She was sent here to be toughened up, Spartan." Mendez told the boy._

_"And she will." Shinji said. "But if you put us through course 172 on our first day against hostiles using live rounds, we would have died sir. I am not the team leader, but I will not accept any unnecessary harm coming to any of the Spartans sir."_

_Mendez looked at the boy. "Petty Officer John-117 is in your Unit, is he not?" he asked._

_"Yessir." Shinji stood ramrod straight._

_"Do you look up to him?"_

_"He cares for the Spartans sir." Shinji reported. "He is a good leader."_

_"You're avoiding the question 108." Mendez smirked._

_Shinji processed his answer before replying. You didn't lie to the chief._

_"I... see myself as level to him sir." Shinji answered. "He is a good friend and my superior officer, but because of our relationship as friends I often come to disagree with his orders and provide my own suggestions."_

_Mendez nodded. "Do you care for the Spartans, 108?" he asked._

_"Yessir."_

_"Well then." Mendez sat back in his chair. "You are hereby promoted to the rank of Petty Officer Second Class." he decided. "Make sure that you continue to advise 117 well."_

_"Yessir." Shinji nodded._

_"You are dismissed 108." Mendez added, gesturing to the door. "Sam-034 will also be cleared of all but minor disciplinary charges as yourself."_

_"Thank you sir." Shinji nodded, turning to leave._

_"And, Spartan 108?" Mendez added as Shinji reached the door. "Make sure to keep that temper of yours in check. It's a great asset during battle, but don't allow it to cloud your judgement again." He said. "Tango company will be targeting your blood specifically from now on."_

_"Yessir."  
_

_

* * *

_

**-}+{-**

* * *

Yeah, just because it's a fanfic, doesn't mean anyone's getting a free pass to sanity. Not even Kaji gets away with it.

And I REALLY like how Shinji's shaping up.


	8. Synchronisation

Remember this battle from the anime? Where they had to dance for a week to get in synch with each other?

I have a better idea.

And I get my A-Level results on Thursday. Whoot!

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

**_May 2010_**

_Asuka hesitated in the changing room before the showers._

_She was hot._

_She was filthy._

_She was covered in her own sweat._

_She wanted a good shower after a hard day._

_But...  
_

_"Come on Asuka!" Kelly invited her. "We're getting hot water for once!"_

_"Yeah, I'm coming." Asuka shook her head. "Don't you feel... awkward?"_

_Kelly looked at her with a raised eyebrow as Sam walked past them, towelling his hair._

_"You know, showering with..." Asuka averted her eyes. "Boys?"_

_Kelly just gave her a look as if to ask 'Why would that be a problem?'_

_Asuka sighed, pulling her shirt off. "Never mind." she decided.  
_

_They were all kids after all._

* * *

**_June 2010_**

_John held a fist up in the air around head-height.  
_

_The Spartans all froze, except the red-haired girl who slowly stopped as she realised what everyone else was doing._

_JOhn-117 made a series of hand gestures very quickly with the upright hand and then stopped on a thumb up._

_Everyone except the girl nodded._

_"What did we just decide on?" Asuka asked the girl standing next to her._

_"We have hostiles on our planned route, so we're going to make a detour through the caves, burst out from behind the waterfall and take 'em out with gunfire." Linda translated under her breath. "We'll be splitting into three teams, decoy, assault, and backup that will go over the tops and attack the hostiles from behind. We're both in the assault team."_

_Asuka felt out of depth. "You... You got all that from the fingers he made?"_

_"There was more, but I don't have time to teach you about how we do times, directions, numbers or distances yet." Linda apologised. "Come on, let's go."_

_Asuka didn't know what impressed her more._

_The fact that they got all that information across in under ten seconds, the fact that they were able to get all that information that quickly, or the fact that she didn't understand any of that code whatsoever. _

_It'd be easier to accept that these kids around her were all psychic._

_

* * *

_

_**July 2010**_

_Kurt-054 was leading the Green Team in today's wide game._

_The wardens never assigned a leader, but if John-117 and Shinji-108 were on the same team, then Kurt was always the other team leader._

_He usually won._

_"Alright, they'll come through here." Kurt decided, tracing his fingers across the map. "And there'll be four guards... here, so that's where the flag will be." he tapped another section. "Kelly's one of them, and we can't outrun her, so we'll need to take her out."_

_Asuka nodded as Kurt went through his explanation._

_She didn't question how he knew this. He just did._

_Even for a Spartan, he seemed psychic to the point of precognitive._

_

* * *

_

_**August 2010**_

_Asuka practiced making hand movements during supper after an exhausting day of training, muttering their meanings as she concentrated._

_"No, that one means captured friendly." Fhajad told her, leaning close to her. "And don't practice the signs here. If they work it out, we need to start the language from scratch. Again."_

_Asuka made a fist and grabbed her knife to cut up her yorkshire pudding. "How long did you guys take to learn it?"_

_"We still are." Fhajad laughed. "If we come across a situation that we don't have a sign for, we make one up."_

_Asuka snickered. "Really?" she asked. "And here I thought that you were all super-geniuses."_

_"No, that's you." Fhajad replied. "No-one else managed to get this far before."_

_"Really?" Asuka asked._

_Fhajad nodded. "Yeah, and they've got all kinds of code crackers coming in to try and work it out." he explained. "Then again, you've been training with us for almost four months now, haven't you?"_

_Asuka froze. "Has it really been that long?" she asked._

_"I know." Fhajad told her. "The last temp. they sent only lasted two weeks. Well done Asuka." _

_Asuka smiled._

_

* * *

_

_**September 2010**_

_"...Now, does anyone have any ideas on how the Wall of Jericho could have fallen like that?" Deja asked the class._

_Asuka raised her hand. "T02." The teacher nodded._

_"Could it have been an early psychological attack?" she asked. "Marching around a city for six days is discerning enough, but the loud noise could have shocked the guards into a brief state of fear while the Israelites took the city?"_

_"A good theory, but archeological records suggest that the walls physically came down." Deja smiled. "Does anyone else have any ideas?"_

_Asuka lowered her hand as Fhajad raised his. "The marching of the city was just a distraction while Israelite scouts planted explosives near the foot of the city wall." he suggested. "Again, primitive psychological warfare to achieve misdirection."_

_"Another good guess." Deja nodded as Asuka's arm shot above her head. "T02?"_

_"Ma'am." Asuka lowered her hand. "The chief priests actually predicted an earthquake and used it to their tactical and religious advantage."_

_Deja nodded. "That is the most likely theory." the teacher said. "Of course, it comes with the problem of us not knowing _how_ they predicted the earthquake, but primitive scientific prediction is more likely than actual prophecy."_

_Asuka smiled. Her only other theory was that one of the Isrealite priests was Kurt-054._

_

* * *

_

_**October 2010**_

_"It's been an honour training with you all." Asuka bowed, genuinely grateful for the Spartans she'd trained with._

_She'd grown immensely, physically and spiritually. _

_She'd seen the best, and what they could do._

_Now she had to overtake them._

_Though, why did all her friends thump her arm on the way past?  
_

_

* * *

_

_**November 2010**_

_Asuka stood before her mother's grave. "Mama..." she whispered as a man took her hand._

_Her new guardian, Kaji._

_The Red Ranger.

* * *

_

_**2015**_

"Did you see that?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"What?"

"Don't you know that foreigner?"

"Foreigner?"

"Yeah! That transferee to 2nd year Class A last week."

"She is Goooood."

"I hear her name's Asuka Langley Soryu."

"She's so hot."

"Since she's return-to-homecountry kind of girl, she must be more adult than..."

"Yeah, because you have a chance, right."

"I guess, she must have hard time, an innocent girl like her dealing with foreign weirdoes."

"Maybe she's trying to cure herself in the unknown land?"

"WOW!"

* * *

"Oi, Bulk and Skull."

Toji and Kensuke turned around to the girl of the year, looming over them. "What did you just call us?"

"You heard me." she stated, pointing to Toji. "Bulk," then Aida "Skull. Got me?"

Kensuke pushed Toji back. "Can I help you Captain Soryu?" he asked.

"Miss Horaki warned me that you two idiots might be selling photos of me for profit."

"Wh-what?" Aida shouted as Asuka reached into his schoolbag. "N-no, I'm-!"

"Don't lie." Asuka told him, rooting through the photographs. "Wow these are crap shots. And people actually pay money for these?" she asked.

"Hey, it's not like we want 'em." Toji huffed.

"How much?" she asked. "500 yen each?"

"What're you after?" Toji asked her.

"A deal, Bulk." Asuka told him. "I offer you better shots, you crank the price up to triple whatever you're charging now, and you get forty percent of the income." She raised a finger as he started to protest. "And in case your brains aren't capable of basic mathematics, you'd be earning more than whatever your charging right now that way, understand?" she asked.

"I'm sure that something can be arranged." Kensuke told her, pushing Toji out of the way. "But I'm afraid that our services are worth more than a forty-percent share." he said. "You see, I'm a qualified photographer as it is, but then comes the printing charges, publicity, selling, overhead fees and the fact that you come across as rather aggressive and impolite and I don't particularly like you, I'm afraid that the most we can cut you is a forty percent share without resorting to candid photography."

Asuka was surprised. Apparently this goon had something inside his skull. "Fifty-fifty and I'm not taking anything off." Asuka decided.

Kensuke sucked in some breath.

It was a good deal, and he almost blew it with the pornography suggestion back there, but he knew that there was only one thing left that he needed here. "Alright, but I'll require an official document stating the terms of this agreement as orders from Captain Soryu so school officials don't close down our business."

"Hey, you're going up against Horaki?" Toji asked Kensuke in shock.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Skull." Asuka said. "I'd prefer not to shake your hand."

"The feeling is mutual, my fair lady." Aida smiled.

* * *

To say that Shinji got along with Asuka would be incorrect.

One could say that they got along like a house on fire. In that it was hot, destructive, attracted a lot of attention, and people's homes would be destroyed before house and fire were separated.

However, that would suggest that the destruction was one sided.

You could argue that it was like a battle, both sides attacking each other for dominance and sheer bloody-minded one-upmanship.

But anyone who had been in a battle would tell you that the analogy was completely incorrect.

One classmate tried to liken it to two painters arguing over what colour the wall should be, or like those fairies from Sleeping Beauty that kept changing the colours of Sleeping Beauties dress.

Shinji quickly grew tired of metaphors.

Asuka then told him that similes and metaphors are different things.

Shinji then found a convenient distraction and reminded Asuka that she hadn't introduced herself to Rei yet.

Now _there_ was a girl who would call a shovel a shovel.

* * *

"We should be good friends!" Asuka told Rei after her dramatic introductions.

"If ordered to do so, then I will." Rei replied, returning to her book as Shinji approached.

Which reminded him.

"Actually, what is your rank?" Shinji asked Rei.

He'd actually never thought to ask.

He had been very lax lately without other Spartans to push him on.

"Corporal." Rei told him.

So she was OR-4. Shinji, as a Sergeant Major, was OR-9, and Captain Soryu was OF-2, almost outranking the two of them put together.

So, in essence, both Shinji and Asuka were authorised to order Rei, the most experienced Ranger, to be their friends.

That wasn't right in Shinji's eyes, but authority was authority.

* * *

"Man, these guys have no idea what she's really like, do they?" Aida asked Toji as he flogged photos of Asuka to the masses.

"Still, even if she's getting half the money, we're still making a profit." Toji shrugged. "Still, Bulk and Skull?"

"Decent business name actually." Kensuke pondered. "Kinda like old school Yakuza."

"We sound like idiots Skull." Tooji sighed.

"_Useful_ idiots Bulk." Kensuke grinned. "That's what lures the clients in. We keep 'em because were not idiots."

Toji counted half the money out. "Well, better find our 'client' and dish out her half of the earnings."

"Invite her for another shoot." Kensuke told him. "We're raking it in."

* * *

Shinji's laptop beeped during maths.

Someone was challenging him to Battleship.

But there was a maths test this week.

Only one person was confident enough to skive this lesson for a game.

Shinji quickly drew up a battleship board on the graph program on the computer. Kensuke told him how the other students worked out this particular system.

It was almost like how the Spartans created languages and tricks to gain control from the wardens, but for pleasure other than... well, yeah. It was exactly the same when you got down to it.

Blue for his ships, red for the enemy. Circles for hits, crosses for misses, and squares for your own ships.

Message the co-ordinates of your attacks with your response.

However, Asuka was sat at the back of the class.

She could see his ships easily.

So Shinji memorized the location of his ships.

=[ You're cheating. H-3 ]=

Shinji frowned as he placed a blue circle on his screen._ Hit, I'm stopping you from cheating._

=[ We'll see. H-4 ]=

_Miss. H-3._

Three wrists beeped.

_Angel attack._

Shinji deleted the game and ran for the open window, pushing past the students and diving out of it, falling three storeys to the ground before rolling to a stop.

After a brief, confused pause, Asuka and Rei excused themselves from the classroom and took the stairs.

* * *

"The battle against Ramiel heavily damaged the city's defence capabilities." Misato explained to the Rangers once they reached NERV. "We're still only at 26% capacity, and in an actual battle that might as well be zero. Because of this, we want to stop the angel at the waterfront. Because of this, we're sending out the Tyrannosaurus and the Dragonzord."

"Roger." Shinji and Asuka nodded in unison.

* * *

"So, even though this is my first battle in Japan, I still can't do it alone?" Asuka moaned as they made their way to the Zord cages.

"That's the way it works." Shinji told her. "We don't fight to win. We fight to survive. No glory, just victory."

"Huh." Asuka groaned. "You Spartans-"

Shinji clamped a hand around her mouth. "That word is off-limits." he warned her. "I'm a trained ninja."

Asuka prised his grip from her. "Fine, whatever." she said. "We morphing or what?"

Shinji nodded. "Rei's staying behind because the Triceratops is still being repaired." he explained as he gripped his Morpher. "Do you want to do the jingle?"

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

"_**TYRANNOSAURUS!**_"

* * *

The Dragonzord and the Tyrannosaurus marched to the sea shore to face the angel of the day.

Israfel.

It almost looked like two silver crescents lumped together with dark flesh to form something resembling a bipedal body.

Shinji's main concern was the bone-like plate on its face. It resembled a blue and red yin-yang symbol.

"Don't charge in Asuka." Shinji told his teammate. "We don't want another Ramiel."

_\_ "Yeah, whatever." _\_ Asuka replied. _\_ "I'm going on, you cover me." _\_

The Tyrannosaurus prepared to pounce, and the Dragonzord began charging its lasers.

The Tyrannosaurus leapt.

The Dragonzord got into stance.

The Tyrannosaurus landed behind the angel.

The angel was bombarded with the Dragonzord's sheer firepower, the heat of the lasers shredding its AT-field apart.

The Tyrannosaurus then swung around and sliced it in half horizontally with its tail.

_\_ "HA!" _\_ Asuka shouted as blood sprayed from the wound as the top half of the angel flew into the water. _\_ "See that? Elegantly and without waste." _\_

Shinji frowned.

"Asuka, get back." he ordered as the two halves of the corpse began to bubble and mutate. "I thought this was too easy."

* * *

"10:58:15 AM today." Lieutenant Maya Ibuki reported back at the command centre. "The Dragonzord sank was attacked by half of the target, call it Alpha, and sank in a location two kilometres from Surugawan bay. 10:58:20 AM Tyrannosaurus ceased functioning after the attack of the second half, call it Beta."

"Not good." Ritsuko tutted.

Asuka sneakily punched Shinji on the arm in anger.

He seemed to ignore it, other than shrug said shoulder.

"11:03 AM" Maya continued. "NERV gave up the right of the operation to the UN forces. With the help of Rei neutralising the AT field to a small extent, UN forces succeeded in dropping an N2 mine onto the angel, destroying 28% of its body-mass."

"We'll have to redraw the map." Fuyutsuki sighed, before raising his voice. "The angels are currently motionless while they regenerate the damage, but their next attack is only a matter of time."

"On the bright side, at least we _have_ time to prepare." Kaji chuckled.

"You two." Gendo growled. "What is your mission?"

Asuka saluted. "To pilot the Zords!" she shouted.

"Wrong." Gendo shouted quietly. "Your sole objective is to kill the angels. Nothing else is of importance." He stood up. "NERV is required to be a symbol of hope. We cannot afford to show such foul displays of incompetence-"

"Sir!" Shinji saluted. "I have no excuse."

"Silence." Gendo stated. "You are dismissed. Now get out of my sight, both of you."

* * *

Shinji drowned out Asuka's complaining in the corridor as she took her anger out on the vending machine.

He just leant forward on the bench, hiding his mouth behind his clasped fingers as he ran simulations of the previous battle through his head.

What went wrong?

What was the enemy's pattern?

How could he use it?

...

Asuka dropped a pair of sunglasses onto his face. "...Freaky..." she whispered.

"Knock it off." Shinji told her, tugging the glasses off his face. "I'm trying to think. It's more productive than taking it out of drink dispensers."

She grabbed Shinji by the collar. "Oh, so now it's _MY_ fault?"

"I never said that." he sighed in irritation, brushing her hands from him. "I'm just trying to think of a solution to the problem."

"Well then you, my friends, are in luck." An unshaven man told them with a smile.

"Kaji!" Asuka shouted, jumping onto him. "I haven't seen you in a week!"

"I've been busy." he laughed, trying to push her off his neck. "Anyway, come on. I'm gonna show you two something."

* * *

Kaji led Shinji and Asuka through the corridors of NERV HQ like he knew it better than Misato did.

"Magi have worked out that the angel is two parts sharing a single core, fighting in complete unison." he explained to the two Rangers. "We can only kill it by striking both core halves at the exact same time or else it'll just regenerate again." He looked back and smirked at the two children. "Only one fighting force on the planet could pull that kind of stunt off. You know which one I mean."

Shinji nodded. He'd just have to accept that Kaji knew about the Spartans for now.

"Now, the thing about those guys is that they did _everything_ together." Kaji explained. "Eating, sleeping, bathing, training, everything." he said, typing in a code into a door as he swiped a keycard into it. "Now, you're both aware of the kind of unity that environment creates, So..."

Inside was a finely-furnished room with two beds on either side against the walls.

"For the next five days, you two will be living in here." he said. "You'll be doing everything in complete unison until you can develop the right kind of synchronisation we need."

Shinji nodded.

Asuka's mind broke.

* * *

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" Asuka shouted once she recovered. "WE'RE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX! WE CAN'T LIVE TOGETHER!"

"Training together isn't enough if we want to get what we need before the angels recover." Misato said once she arrived. "We need to synchronise your biological rhythms, your thought patterns, pretty much everything."

"You trained with them for six months Asuka, and you barely managed it." Kaji stated. "And even then, not to the same level they did. We need to fast-course this."

"B-but what if Shinji gets horny and decides to attack me in the middle of the night?" Asuka shouted.

Shinji decided to break the situation with humour.

"Well, you'd be fucked."

* * *

Once that misunderstanding had been clarified and Kaji's hand recovered from the high-five, Misato ran the two Rangers through their training regime.

"Any questions?" Misato asked.

"Do we _have_ to shower together as well?" Asuka asked.

"Oh yeah, you hate showers, don't you?" Shinji remembered. "You always were the quickest to finish your wash..."

"Missing the point entirely." Kaji sighed. "Look, Asuka, the kid's more soldier than teenager, you'll be fine."

"But..." she glanced sideways at him.

"You can sort it out on your own." Kaji decided, pushing Misato out of the room. "Get your rest, we'll be putting you through hell tomorrow."

"But-!"

SLAM!

"If it's that big of a deal, we'll do that separately." Shinji conceded.

Asuka growled, slamming the door to the bathroom open.

It was a _big_ shower with two showerheads a decent distance from each other at least.

She checked the ground under each showerhead.

Pressure plates.

If she guessed right, the water wouldn't run unless both of them were there at the same time.

How did they even _build_ something this stupid this fast?

"You're doing it blindfolded." Asuka decided. "End of."

* * *

Shinji removed his blindfold as he walked out of the bathroom. Amazingly, there hadn't been any accidents, mostly due to Shinji's amazing Proprioception- the ability to sense the location of your own body in relation to the rest of the world without the use of your other senses.

Still, Asuka thought, considering those muscles, she probably wouldn't have minded-

She shook her head clear.

She had Kaji, dammit!

* * *

Shinji ran through the plans he had so far. The angel wouldn't be capable of moving until the eleventh, so they had five days to prepare before the battle on the sixth day.

"So." Asuka decided, pulling a can of Lilt from the fridge and tossing one to Shinji. "What about that sign language? Can you teach me?"

Shinji looked at her. "You don't know it?" he asked in surprise. "You haven't been using it all this time? I thought we were using it already."

"Since when?" she asked. "And I'd remember. I have a photographic memory."

Shinji sighed and opened his drink. "If I'm going to teach you, I'll have to disable the seven cameras and twelve listening devices in the room first." he said before taking a sip. "You okay with that?"

"That many?" she asked. "Where?"

"The cameras are in the four top corners, lampshade in the middle, one in the bathroom and one in the shower." Shinji told her pointing to each camera in question. "Optimal places, and if you look, you can see where they hid them."

Asuka paled. "Why in the shower..?" she asked.

"Probably to make sure we didn't push one of the dressers onto the plates so we could take turns or something." Shinji said. "I only realised it when we were inside."

She glared. "I thought you were blindfolded."

"It was pretty loud." Shinji told her. "You just weren't listening."

She hmph'ed. "Whatever." she conceded. "You get the bugs, I'll get the cameras."

* * *

Once the small pile of technology was in the middle of the room, the phone rang.

"Hiiii, Asuka Langley Soryu here!" Asuka answered sweetly. "How may I help you?"

_\_ "What do you think you're doing?" _\_ Misato growled. _\_ "That's NERV property you're destroying." _\_

"And I'd prefer not to have a bunch of creepy security guys fapping over my underage body." Asuka stated. "Can you see my predicament?"

Misato sighed. _\_ "Fine, I'll trust you to follow the rules of the training regimen, alright?" _\_ she asked. _\_ "Just... try to understand our situation here." _\_

Asuka laughed. "Don't worry, we'll be good!" she smiled as she hung the phone up before scowling and muttering obscenities in German.

"Alright, the reason why I thought you knew was the arm punch." Shinji told her, tapping her shoulder as he did so. "We developed it so we could comfort each other while standing in row without getting noticed. Shrugging the shoulder is thanks, and also to return the sentiment."

Asuka's jaw dropped. "That's it?" she asked. "All that time, a punch in the arm was a Spartan Hug?"

"I... guess so?" Shinji shrugged. "Didn't you know?"

"How would I know?"

"You've been punching me in the arm all week!"

"Believe me, I wasn't trying to hug you." Asuka sighed, before shuddering. "Holy... _those have been hugs you've been giving me?_ Eew!"

Shinji facepalmed.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Shinji-108 woke up at six AM, sat up in his bed and almost started surveying the room before remembering that he was Shinji Ikari.

Asuka was still asleep.

The alarm clock wasn't set for another half hour.

Shinji lay back down, trying to get back to sleep.

* * *

After an awkward conflict of morning rituals, Asuka and Shinji were both dressed in deep blue combat fatigues and jogging towards the training hall for the first test before breakfast.

"Hey, remember those jogs the Chief made us go on?" Asuka asked.

Shinji smirked.

"When I left, he was making us _run_ them."

Asuka laughed. "He must've been doing something right."

* * *

07:26 AM, training room 7b.

Asuka and Shinji were facing an obstacle course with two bells at the end.

"You'll both be facing the same challenges, but not necessarily in the same order." Misato briefed them. "Your goal is to ring the bells at the exact same time."

Asuka and Shinji nodded.

"I want you to morph, then wait behind this starting line until the beep." Misato continued. "You are to count to ten at normal speed- one number per second, then begin the course."

Asuka and Shinji nodded.

"We've brought in some soldiers from the JSSDF to help you train." Misato said. "You are authorised to use force against them, but you will leave your weapons behind the starting line. All of them."

Asuka tutted, but Shinji nodded.

"Alright then." Misato nodded. "Let's begin."

"_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

* * *

Shinji knelt down with a fist on the ground as the bell rang.

Asuka flinched as she saw what was ahead. "Schissen..." she swore. "Paratroopers..."

"And gyrocopters." Shinji told her. "Probably with live rounds."

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"Finish counting to ten." Shinji replied. "Then ring the bell."

Asuka stared at him as the paratroopers gathered around the starting line and aimed their weapons. She lowered her leg and readied her AT-field.

"Ten."

* * *

Misato stared at the screen in shock.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked.

Kaji chuckled.

"That's what little Shinji is capable of." he told her. "I reckon you could slow that recording down all you like and we still wouldn't be able to see it."

* * *

Asuka saw it.

Her eyes caught every microsecond of the bloodbath.

And yet, no one died.

Shinji tossed her a battle rifle as she stepped over the starting line. "Let's move." he told her. "We've got bells to ring."

* * *

The two Rangers ran.

Shinji slowed down so Asuka could keep up.

Asuka used her AT-field to make her legs move faster so she wouldn't get left behind.

The two of them were actually dodging bullets.

Shinji stopped and held his fist perpendicular to his head.

Asuka froze.

"Minefield." She realised. "Are they _trying_ to kill us?"

"Stun mines." Shinji explained, kneeling down to inspect the gravel. "With a roof this low, we can't exactly jump over it either."

Asuka took a deep breath and focused.

A bridge of orange light formed over the gravel.

"Can you move while keeping this together?" Shinji asked her.

No response.

Shinji picked her up and ran across the bridge, putting her down at the earliest opportunity.

The path split off into two.

With a bell on either end.

Shinji pointed in one direction.

Asuka took the other.

* * *

"Five minutes, two seconds." Kaji told Misato. "They didn't screw up, but they can do better."

Misato rubbed her forehead. "So, you're sure we can get that number down to thirty-three seconds by the end of the week?" she asked.

"Positive." Kaji smirked. "But let's make 'em do some other stuff first."

* * *

Asuka slapped Shinji in the corridor. "Did you _have_ to cop a feel when you were carrying me!"

"Sorry!" Shinji apologised. "Didn't do it on puro-"

Asuka turned around to see what Shinji as looking at and saluted. "Commander Ikari!"

"How are the preparations coming along?" Gendo asked, not breaking his stride.

"Excellent sir!" Asuka reported. "We'll definitely win four-"

"Glad to hear it." Gendo stated as he walked down the corridor. "I look forward to the next battle."

Shinji clenched a fist and turned around. "Father." he shouted. "We were about to go for breakfast. Would you-"

"I have other work to do." Gendo answered without looking back or even slowing. "I have work to do."

* * *

Shinji barely spoke a word during the rest of the day's training.

It was surprising just what Misato and Kaji came up with, running, tandem cycling, swimming, rowing, three-legged running, ballroom dancing...

The last event of the day was a repeat of the morning's bell game, but without the Power Morphers.

It took almost half an hour, but twelve of those minutes was admittedly spent on the minefield.

However, even without the suits, the time shouldn't have dropped that much.

Shinji Ikari was distracted.

* * *

"And that's the last one." Shinji told Asuka, prying the camera from the wall with a screwdriver.

"At least they _tried_ hiding them in different spots this time." Asuka sighed. "So why didn't you do a bug sweep straight away on the first night?"

"Same reason I didn't bother doing a sweep in Misato's apartment." Shinji told her. "I didn't have anything to hide."

Asuka raised an eyebrow, but then cottoned on. "Oh, right, the Spartan thing." she sighed. "You really don't think your dad knows about it?"

"My dad probably planned it." he told her. "Some things are only meant for Spartans to know."

"And you never thought that I'm a spy that's telling them everything?" Asuka asked. "How do you know _I'm_ not wearing a wire?"

"Because I found that already." Shinji told her. "You didn't know about it."

"They're bugging our clothes? Creepy." she recoiled, slumping onto his bed. "So. You have a father complex then?"

Shinji almost dropped the screwdriver. "What makes you say that?" he asked, sliding down to sit next to her.

"Oh, come on." she groaned. "You've been depressed all day because he didn't want to have breakfast with you."

"I don't have a complex." Shinji told her. "I hate him, he hates me, but I'd _like_ it if we didn't hate each other, because that's how fathers are supposed to be, right? He asked. "I mean, Chief Mendez was more of a father to me than the Commander, and he made me do pushups until I threw up. _When I was four._"

"Sounds like complex to me." Asuka sighed, getting off the bed and walking over to the fridge.

"What about your dad?" Shinji asked her.

"Don't have one." Asuka told him, pulling out two cans and tossing one to her flatmate.

"Did he die?" Shinji asked, catching the can.

"Years before I was even conceived." Asuka sighed, opening her drink. "You ever hear of Bruce Lee?"

"Yeah." Shinji nodded.

"Ever hear of a sperm bank?" Asuka asked.

"...Oh."

"Yeah." Asuka sighed. "Mom was a German/Japanese scientist working for GEHERN on the Ranger project." she said. "She came up with the idea of _building _children to become Rangers, so she got one of her own eggs and fertilised it with the best sperm from the best martial artist." She looked at the carpet. "I was conceived in a test tube."

Shinji looked down at himself.

Someone who had been built.

He couldn't call himself any different.

"Anyway, so what's your problem?" Asuka asked him. "Sure, you had better training than me, but I was _born_ elite. You know that I graduated from university last year, right?" she asked.

Shinji smirked.

They really were similar.

"Do you ever get lonely?" Shinji asked her. "I mean, I was trained in a pretty-close knit group, but it's not like you were competing with a bunch of Bruce-Lee kids, were you?"

"No, don't be stupid." Asuka spat, smirking at the thought. "But I was chosen from a bunch of other candidates to become the Red Ranger and fight the angels. So long as everyone acknowledges that I'm doing a good job, then I'm happy."

Shinji nodded.

_Really Similar._

_

* * *

_

Shinji woke to the sound of voices.

Intruders?

Language? German.

"Mama..."

Voice? Single, young female.

"Mama... Why'd you have to die...?"

Shinji looked to the other bed. Asuka?

She sobbed in her sleep.

Shinji rolled over and dozed off.

_Everyone _cried in their sleep from time to time.

* * *

A couple of days later, and progress was coming along slowly.

It was happening, but not as quickly as they needed it.

"Rei." Misato decided one day. "Run through the course with Shinji while Asuka takes a break."

* * *

Sixty Seconds.

Faster, and smoother, than Shinji's time with Asuka.

Of course, Asuka was the only one capable of piloting the Tyrannosaurus, so it was a moot point, but Asuka took it badly.

Meaning she ran from the course, screaming in outrage to hide her tears.

"So much for the jealousy gambit..." Misato grumbled, scratching her head furiously. "Shinji, go after her."

"Huh?" he asked, powering down. "Is that a good idea?"

"Course it is. Spending time with her this week, that's your job." Kaji told him with a smirk.

* * *

Shinji found Asuka sitting by a lake in the Geofront.

He walked up beside her and sat down. "Why'd you follow me?" Asuka demanded, not moving her head to look at him. "After all, I'm just a weak link, aren't I?"

"No." Shinji told her. "You're not."

"Don't lie." she snapped with a bitter laugh. "_You're_ doing it perfectly. _I'm_ a klutz. A bumbling slowpoke. I should just give the Red Power Morpher to Ayanami and go back to Germany."

"No, you shouldn't." Shinji told her. "You just need to relax more."

"Relax?" she asked with a pint of venom. "Now that's rich. Shinji-108, the child soldier, is telling _me_ to relax." Asuka glared at him. "You don't know the meaning of the word."

Shinji glanced around.

"Kaji, leave." Shinji demanded, pointing to a tree that smelt of nicotine.

Asuka glanced behind her as the man left, but Shinji kept a firm grip on her shoulder.

"We were trained from dawn until dusk every day." Shinji told her. "But we were kids. We played. Our games were different, but we played. We had to. It was the only way to keep us from becoming emotionless hands to hold a gun like they wanted."

"First I've heard." Asuka grumbled.

Shinji got to his feet. "We never told you because we didn't trust you. We _couldn't_ lose these games. It was all we had."

"Go on then." Asuka laughed sarcastically. "What games do weapons play when no-ones looking?"

THUCK

Asuka looked at the trapdoor Shinji had opened under the grass. "That depends on one thing Alice." Shinji told her with a smirk. "Just how far down does the rabbit-hole go?"

* * *

"So, they went down this trap door that wasn't even on the blue-print." Misato groaned. "And we have no idea where they are now?"

"Pretty much." Ritsuko frowned. "And this is not a good thing."

"Tell me about it..." Misato sighed.

Ritsuko span in her chair to glare at the Major. Misato flinched.

"That tunnel leads to restricted areas of Central Dogma." the scientist explained. "There are some things that those kids aren't _meant_ to know."

"So you've initiated a lockdown on those areas?" Misato asked.

"Do you _really_ think that's going to stop them?" Ritsuko asked. "I mean, really?"

* * *

Shinji jumped from the air vent and landed on the bridge. "Holy..."

"Whoa." Asuka whispered, looking at the white behemoth before her. A massive bloated body, a hundred twisted limbs at its base in lieu of real feet and an enigmatic mask covering it's face. It looked like…

There was a slow clapping behind the two of them.

Gendo Ikari.

_He's armed._

"Well done children." Gendo said. "No one else has managed to infiltrate this far into Central Dogma before."

"Why is there an angel under NERV HQ?" Shinji demanded.

"That's Lilith, the second angel." Gendo explained, gesturing to the massive white body crucified on the cross above them. The lower half of the abdomen was a mass of human legs. Orange blood flowed from the bloated gut. "It was buried inside the Geofront like ADAM, the first angel, was buried inside Antartica's Geofront."

"Is there something buried in the Yellowstone Geofront?" Asuka asked.

"If there was, the angels would have attacked it." Gendo answered. "You see, _this_ is what the angels are after. The chance to become one with Lilith and initiate Third Impact."

"And we're keeping that thing here why?" Asuka demanded, before realising with a gasp. "It's flypaper."

"We lure the angels here with Lilith." Shinji nodded. "That way, we can fight them on our own terms, except for the sixth angel."

"Ryoji Kaji was transporting something for me that the angels wanted." Gendo explained. "I have no intentions to tell you what."

"And yet you're fine with tell us about this." Shinji noted. "Why did you hide it?"

"I didn't." Gendo replied, pushing his sunglasses up his nose. "If you had asked, I would have told you."

Shinji turned to his father, smiling sweetly. "Hey, dad, do we happen to have any giant monster people crucified in the basement that the angels want?" he asked before glaring. "Don't play games with me, commander."

Gendo raised his gun.

Beretta 96G-SD semi-automatic.

Shinji reacted.

But not fast enough.

**BLAM**

Shinji felt an impact on his chest.

Pain.

Left collarbone.

He stamped his back foot against the iron flooring and clutched the source of pain.

He looked at it.

Blood, seeping through his shirt.

_'He shot me..._' Shinji realised. _'The bastard shot me!'_

Gendo tossed a first-aid kit onto the floor.

"Patch yourself up and resume your training." Gendo ordered, opening the door to the lift. "Don't waste NERV time on your silly games."

Gendo turned around and lifted his arm perpendicular to his head, two fingers in the air.

He tilted them forward and pointed them at the lift, then back up, then flashed four fingers. Then made a fist. Then stuck a thumb out. Then five fingers. Then two. Then a thumb.

Shinji's and Asuka's eye's widened as he spent the next minute making a series of gestures with his right hand.

"I'm afraid I'm not quite fluent yet, but I'm sure that you understand my message." Gendo told them, stepping into the elevator and going up without them.

Shinji lost all strength in his legs.

_He knew._

_He knew the Spartans secrets._

_He knew everything.  
_

Shinji was completely at his mercy.

Worse still, the commander read Shinji like a set of tracks, only he hadn't made them yet.

Shinji sobbed.

Mendez hadn't trained him for the worst.

The Chief had only trained him with the worst he could come up with.

Asuka opened the medical kit. "Come on, let's take a look at that." She said pushing the shock aside for now. "Take your shirt off."

Shinji complied.

They had time to kill before the lift returned.

* * *

Shinji didn't report the wound.

There was no need to, it had scabbed over by the time they returned to the training room.

In fact, it had healed to an almost unnoticeable blemish by the time the battle came.

Asuka kept hold of the bullet afterwards.

Bullets broke bones.

But Shinji's collarbone cracked the bullet in half.

That wasn't human.

Spartans were more than human.

Asuka wanted to remind herself of that fact.

* * *

Israfel was slaughtered.

The two Zords rushed the two halves of the angel.

The two Zords slashed their tails through the angel's bodies.

The two Zords bathed the angel flesh in hellfire.

The two Zords stomped on the cores.

* * *

"Incredible..." Ritsuko whispered once the battle was won. "They can achieve that kind of teamwork with only a week of training?"

"We were hoping for better results, but I guess we were being too optimistic." Misato sighed.

"No, this is amazing!" Ritsuko shouted. "Misato, we need Asuka to move into your apartment. No, you need to get bunk-beds!"

"Wait, you want them to _keep on_ sharing a room?" Misato asked. "I doubt Asuka will-"

"They can start showering seperately or whatever." Ritsuko told her. "But we are _NOT_ loosing a fighting force this good."

Misato sighed.

She was gonna have to clean up the apartment. _Again._

_

* * *

_**-}+{-

* * *

**

So, yeah. Just in case you forgot, Shinji is Shinji, Asuka is Asuka, Gendo is Gendo. Just because Shinji's a badass, that doesn't mean that life is easy for him.

And now, an Omake.

* * *

Gendo raised his gun.

_For those about to rock!_

Shinji reacted.

But not fast enough.

_Fire!_

_**BLAM**_

_We sal-ute you!**  
**_

* * *

Hey, no way was Gendo gonna shoot Shinji and I wasn't gonna make a Gendowned joke. It's all about the time and the place.


	9. Volcano Day

There are other things I could be doing right now, but I want to do this. This idea won't leave me, and it's hard coming up with new ways to rape minds.

Expect that up next week by the way. I am doing it, and I'm not preparing for uni this year.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**June, 2012**_

_Shinji-108 sat atop the tree as he bit into the apple._

_It was rare that the Spartans got free time, but it happened from time to time._

_Usually when the wardens were focused on one of the Units in particular. _

_Today, the even numbered Units were doing a test of some sort. The rest of the Spartans would have to do the test tomorrow._

_Which meant that Shinji could enjoy this apple on his eleventh birthday._

_He could see Unit-07's Kate-031 and Kain-033 from here. _

… _What were they doing?_

* * *

_**July, 2012**_

_Kain-033 rammed a fist into Victor-101's face._

_Mike elbowed him back, but took a palm to the throat that slammed him in the wall. _

_Shinji stood up. Spartans fought each other from time to time, but never two Spartans from Unit-07._

_What the hell was going with that Unit?_

* * *

_**September, 2012**_

_Kate returned to the regular training with an eyepatch that day, alongside her other two teammates._

_Unit-02 had torn her left eye out for 'Unspartan' behaviour. _

_Well, she HAD been having an unauthorised relationship with Kain, but Shinji wished he could have been with Unit-07 when they avenged their team leader's eye._

_Still, that wasn't his place._

_Whatever the issue was, Unit-07 was happy now._

_Unfortunately, the lesson of teamwork came at a heavy price._

_Shinji was glad that he, John and Kelly learnt to work together as early as they did._

_Love turned things ugly._

* * *

_**2015**_

Shinji stood on his hands and hooked his feet through the gap in the wood of the top bunk. As quietly as he could, he pushed off the wood of the bottom bunk and pulled his torso up in a sit-up before leaning back down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up- Asuka.

She pulled the mattress back and pushed Shinji's feet out of the gap.

THUD

"What the hell was that for?" Shinji shouted, clutching the back of his head.

"It's pig's tail." Asuka grumbled, letting the mattress fall back into place as she rolled back under the covers.

"What?" Shinji frowned. Was she still dreaming?

"Figure it out..." she muttered sleepily.

Pig's tail?

Curly?

Twirly?

Too Early?

Shinji audibly groaned at the pun, earning himself a pillow to the face.

"What's so early about quarter-to-six in the morning?" he asked.

"Shut it!" she shouted, holding an arm out for her pillow. "Shopping with Kaji today. Need sleep."

Shinji sighed, standing up and handing the projectile back to her. "Whatever, I'm off for a run."

She flipped him off as he left the room.

* * *

"Man, I am so stoked about this school trip!" Toji told Shinji as the Spartan slowed down his jog outside the Suzuhara home. "Sun, sand, and babes in bikini's!" He grinned. "Okinawa is just two more days away! How about you?" he asked.

"I'm staying." Shinji told him. "An angel might show up."

"Ouch." Toji laughed. "How'd captain bitch take it?"

"I'm not sure she's been told yet." Shinji said. "She's looking forward to shopping for swimsuits with Kaji today, and we didn't want to spoil it for her."

Toji laughed harder. "Man, is she gonna be pissed when she finds out."

"It can't be helped." Shinji shrugged. "We've got a job to do."

"Sucks to be you." Toji smirked.

* * *

Half a mile later, Shinji thought of a decent question to ask.

"What's the big deal about buying a swimsuit, anyway?" he asked. "Does it really matter what you wear to swim?"

Toji stopped.

Shinji turned around to face him. "What?"

"Did you seriously just ask that?" Toji asked him in disbelief. "I mean, I know you were trained in some ninja mountains, but are you honestly that sheltered?"

"Toji, I've busted more brothels than you have fingers." Shinji explained. "I am _not_ sheltered."

"And yet, you have no idea how it all applies to _you_." The boy sighed with sympathy as he put a hand on your shoulder. "Come on, we're off to Aida's. We'll sort you out."

* * *

BANGBANGBANG

A man in his forties opened the door. "Oh, Suzuhara." He grumbled. "Kensuke's still in his room-"

"Thanks Mr. Aida." Toji nodded, dragging Shinji into the house. "This is Shinji Ikari by the way, and we really need your son's help."

"No problem, I was actually hoping you could get him to pack. You set off tomorrow don'tcha?"

"Yessir!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Shinji Ikari was introduced to the magical world of softcore pornography.

"No need for the blocked files." Toji explained. "He's seen more sex than you will in a lifetime. We just need to explain the appeal of girls in bikinis."

Aida's jaw dropped. "Is he… _gay?_"

"No idea." Toji said. "Right now I don't think he's anything."

"I'm right here you know." Shinji pointed out, looking over Kensuke's shoulder. "Still not seeing the point."

Aida grinned and clicked on the 'special' folder.

A new world opened before Shinji.

"... Now I see the point."

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I CAN'T GO ON THE TRIP?"

"Right." Misato nodded.

"Why not?" Asuka demanded.

Shinji focused on stripping and polishing the parts of Misato's Kimber Aegis handgun. Toji had been incredibly accurate in his prediction.

"You never told me about being on standby!" Asuka shouted.

"I'm telling you now." Misato explained.

"Who the hell decided that?"

"I did." Misato smiled. "As the Operations Planning Manager."

Asuka didn't have a response to that, so she turned to Shinji. "Don't just sit there polishing a gun!" she shouted. "Say something! You're a man, aren't you?"

Shinji looked up at the ceiling for a moment before replying. "I'm a soldier first." He explained, placing down the muzzle and picking up the trigger. "I was gonna stay behind whether I was ordered to or not."

"So you'd given up without fighting?" Asuka humphed.

"No, I chose to stay somewhere where I would be able to kill something." Shinji replied. "If an angel doesn't show up, I'm sure Misato will compensate us somehow."

"Oi." Misato growled, planting a beer can on the table. "What're you implying?"

"If an angel doesn't attack Tokyo-03 during the duration of next week, you need to treat us both to Sushi." Shinji smiled sweetly.

"And not the take-out stuff you usually get." Asuka clarified. "You're taking us to the best place in Tokyo-03."

Misato's eye twitched, and Shinji could swear he saw a vein pulse on her forehead. "Fine." She agreed. "But in the meantime, you're going to catch up on your studies. Or did you think I wouldn't find out about these?" Misato asked, holding up two floppy discs. "You'd be greatly mistaken if you thought I wouldn't find out about these. What you get on your tests at school is piped directly to me."

Shinji sighed.

He'd have to help Asuka study then.

* * *

"You know, if you weren't such a dunce, then we'd have gotten the week off." Asuka told Shinji as he did upside-down sit-ups from her bunk. "I can't believe that you failed the exams."

"I got all A's except for a C in art and a B in history." Shinji told her. "And the history shouldn't even count since its all propaganda."

"Wait, so you passed everything?" Asuka asked. "I got straight A's in everything except a C in composition."

Shinji paused mid-sit-up. "So Misato was relying on us not talking to each other in order to keep us busy for a week." Shinji realised.

Asuka fell back onto her bunk. "Hey, did you sweep up like I asked you?" She asked.

"Yeah, the room's clean." Shinji said. "Though I'm gonna have to get some bug spray for the walls."

_Audio bugs inside the walls, but no cameras._ Asuka realised.

She held out her right hand. – _We need to use these signals more often, preferably discreetly. –_ her fingers told Shinji.

Shinji slipped his feet out from their holding place and backflipped onto the wooden floor. _– Little as possible. Gendo knows, we don't want any more people knowing about it in the first place, let alone translating it. –_

"Your feet look kinda sore from that." Asuka replied as he opened the minifridge and grabbed a bottle of water. –_ So we'll keep our hands by our sides and keep glancing at each other. What's the big deal? -_

"Are you staring at my butt?" Shinji asked, his real meaning veiled underneath his words.

Asuka shrugged. "Pass one up." She told him, opening her hand wide.

She caught it with her left hand. – _We'd be able to get away with it if people thought we were a couple. -_

Shinji was lucky that he just swallowed as Asuka finished signing that suggestion. – _You do realise that we have Section-2 following us almost all the time. –_

"This sucks, give me a decent one." Asuka complained, tossing the drink back down. –_ So we fake a coming-onto-each-other period over this week. Admit it, it'd explain why we'd be spending a lot of time together and why we seem to know what the other is thinking.- _"What's taking you so long?" she asked.

"Just trying to figure out if you want Pepsi or Coke." Shinji replied, grabbing one at random and tossing it back up to her. –_ They'll never believe me getting into a relationship. ESPECIALLY with a teammate. –_

"Is there a difference?" she asked, signing back. –_ Fine, I'll seduce you if it makes you happy. We doing this or not. –_

"Whatever you want." Shinji sighed, closing the fridge door with his foot.

Beeping.

Shinji and Asuka snapped to attention.

Golem attack.

One and a half miles from here.

Rei was en-route.

"I'm missing out on so much sleep from these things." Asuka sighed, slipping from the top bunk and grabbing her Morpher. "_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

* * *

The Blue Ranger was facing off the golem with her power staff as the crowd cheered from a safe distance when the Red Ranger arrived.

The golem looked vaguely like a deformed child that had been hanged, with four thin, stick-like black legs protruding from the broken 'neck'.

"That's disgusting." The Red Ranger snarled as she landed on the asphalt beside the Blue Ranger.

"Where's the Green Ranger?" The Blue asked her teammate.

As if in answer to her question, The Green Ranger landed behind the golem with his Dragon Dagger. "What do we know?" he asked the Ranger who got there first.

"The Golem has yet to attack." Blue reported. "It manifested from the ground but has yet to take a single action."

Shinji frowned behind the helmet. Golem's abilities were usually somewhat similar to the angel that produced them, but charging in without knowing what that similarity actually does is a dangerous move.

The golem raised a leg and lashed out at the Green Ranger.

Shinji raised a hand and grabbed it, but it pressed on and almost skewered a boy behind him.

The Green Ranger glanced behind him. The boy was bleeding from a nasty gash in his chest, and the spike was whipping around to trap and maim the child.

Shinji pushed the limb back, releasing the boy. "_Move._" He ordered, twisting the hand gripping the black spike and snapping the thin limb like a twig.

The golem screamed and produced four new limbs, these ones for stabbing rapidly like spears as they rotated in a ring.

Shinji dropped his hold on the initial limb and charged forward as people around him began to scream and scramble for safety. He dodged attack after attack as he approached; glancing to make sure the other two were following his plan.

Shinji made some hand signals to Asuka and roared at Rei to charge at the golem from underneath. He registered two almost unnoticeable nods in their helmets as Shinji twisted in the ground and grabbed another spear-like limb and forced it into the ground.

The spinning ring of limbs stopped moving, giving Asuka a clear jump. She forced her blade vertically through the shrunken torso as Rei smashed through its dislocated skull with her spear.

The golem didn't even scream as it died; just gave a gurgling sound as the strength in its needle-like legs gave away and snapped at the joints. The Red Ranger hopped off the golem and landed gracefully as the body crunched against the asphalt.

The battle went as planned.

Then a can bounced off the Green Ranger's helmet.

"You bastard!" one man shouted, cradling a bleeding young boy as another man applied pressure to the wound. "You could've killed him!"

The boy's injuries were severe, but he'd live so long as the emergency services were as competent as they should be.

"Where do you get off giving orders like that!" one woman shouted. "The Blue Ranger's been doing before you even got in the suit!"

"Where's the Black Ranger?" another woman shouted. "He'd have killed that thing without anyone getting hurt!"

More people were getting angry, one of them being Asuka.

"What the hell…" she growled under her breath. "We save their asses and this is what we get?"

The Green Ranger picked up a gun from a soldier and fired it into the air.

Silence fell.

"The Black Ranger was Killed In Action against Ramiel about a month ago." The Green Ranger declared, lowering the weapon. "You don't seem to realise that we are at war with extremely powerful enemies that can change themselves at will in order to better kill us all. So instead of telling me how to do what I have spent the past ten years doing, please do as instructed and evacuate the battlefield in future, because we cannot kill the enemy if we are focused on protecting you." He turned to the man with his son. "Sir, an ambulance is on its way, and your son will be fine."

Shinji tossed the gun back to the soldier. "Our job is to keep you alive." He told the civilians as he began to walk through a path that opened itself through the crows. "Please meet us half-way by making it easier for us to stay alive."

Asuka caught a thrown can that would have hit Shinji's helmet, but decided to toss it into a bin before following the Green Ranger.

The Blue Ranger set off silently in the opposite direction.

* * *

Shinji rubbed his shoulders as he left his bedroom the next morning after another argument with a semi-conscious Asuka concerning his morning training regimen. Why she couldn't appreciate that he was getting out of shape as it is was beyond him.

He picked up the TV remote and turned on the news.

He was on it.

_\_ "Our job is to keep _you_ alive." _\_ The Green Ranger on the TV clip growled. _\_ "Please meet us half-way by making it easier for _us_ to stay alive." _\_

Shinji sighed, grabbing his head. He was _sure_ he didn't sound that angry when he said it last night.

_\_ "The Green Ranger's threatening behaviour has not been endorsed by NERV officials." _\_ the anchorwoman stated. _\_ "But they have released no apology for these statements. Kozo Fuyutsuki, NERV's Vice-Commander, has stated that the Green Ranger places human lives as a top priority, and was deeply hurt by a cutting remark one bystander said about the Black Ranger, who has now been announced as deceased after a battle against an especially powerful enemy some time ago. When asked about the Ranger's ability to defend us against these invaders, Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki merely explained that soldiers died in battle, and it's a testament to the Ranger's abilities that the enemy have only managed to defeat one of them so far." _\_

The woman turned to her co-anchor. _\_ "Koyuki, what are your thoughts on these events?" _\_ she asked.

"Oooh, you're gonna be in trouble." Asuka sneered from behind Shinji, making him jump. "Someone needs to hold his temper in check."

"You know, that's exactly what Mendez told me the day you arrived." Shinji muttered in reply as he pushed the remote into her hands and walked into the kitchen. "Apparently it'll get me killed one day."

"And you seemed so nice." Asuka joked. "What did you do? Ram a girl's head into the mud for no reason?"

"Killed three soldiers in cold blood." He replied, opening the fridge.

Asuka froze.

"And, you got promoted for that?" she asked him.

Shinji shrugged, opening a can of beer and chugging it before Misato woke up.

"Ahem."

Shinji did a spit take as his guardian removed the can from his hand and handed it to the penguin. "The Commander wants to speak with you grumpy." Misato told him. "You're in trouble."

"Hey, with any luck, you'll make Lieutenant for this." Asuka smirked.

Shinji sighed.

* * *

Shinji stood before his father in the ominous office again.

"Do you know why I summoned you here?" the elder Ikari asked.

"Because I acted inappropriately as the Green Ra-"

"Incorrect." Gendo stated. "Remove your shirt."

Shinji raised an eyebrow, but complied.

There was no mark on his shoulder.

"That will do." Gendo replied, and Shinji replaced the garment. "Dummy Plant 108 has been destroyed. We need to restore the data."

"Sir." Shinji nodded. "Do you have another plant?"

Gendo smirked.

"We designed the plant."

* * *

Three hours later, Shinji vomited the orange liquid that filled the glass tube of the dummy plant.

He hated standing there naked in the liquid for three hours thinking of nothing but what his body was capable of. It all seemed so pointless.

But, apparently it was important.

All the other Spartans had to do it too.

He walked past Ritsuko and his father and stepped into the shower, thankful for the chance to wash the orange film from his skin.

Mud, blood, even vomit felt better on your skin than this stuff.

But it was important.

So Shinji did it.

He just hoped that he wouldn't have to do it again anytime soon.

* * *

Shinji eventually found Asuka fawning over Kaji at lunchtime as the man tried to chat up his favourite Major, who apparently wasn't interested.

Shinji was not in a good mood.

And when he wasn't in a good mood, he liked to spread it around.

Of course, behaving in an anti-socially harmed the team dynamic, but the Spartans had long since found much more effective ways to shift their bad moods onto other people.

The Spartan crouched low, focusing his breathing and listening to the clatter and the general hub-hub of NERV at lunchtime.

The sounds seemed random.

They weren't.

There was a pattern.

A rhythm.

A natural, subconscious rhythm shared by people gathered together.

Shinji found it.

He dashed forward, not silently, but each footstep was hidden by a louder sound.

His breathing was hidden by the sounds of conversation.

He kept low as he danced around the NERV employees, keeping himself invisible to those around him and, most importantly, his prey.

He locked sights on the target.

Stealth no longer important, Shinji cleared the last few feet and drew himself to full height.

He wrapped two arms around Asuka's waist from behind and lifted her up onto his chest as he leaned back. "ASUKA!" he shouted, rubbing his cheek into his back. "Oh, it is so good to SEE you!"

"Ah- WHAT?" she shouted.

Kaji laughed, more at Misato's and Asuka's reaction than anything. "Alright Shinji, put her down."

"NEVER!" Shinji shouted, bringing one arm up to rub her scalp. "I shall name her squishy and she will be mine, and she will be my squishy!"

Asuka snarled, and stamped onto Shinji's knee. Taking the hint, he released her before she stomped backward into a more vulnerable target on Shinji's body.

Kaji laughed as Asuka slapped Shinji across the face. "Ah, young love." He joked.

"WHAT?" Asuka shouted "Kaji?"

"Yeah, everyone knows I'm going out with Lieutenant Ibuki." Shinji shrugged.

Silence fell at that table.

"HEY, Lieutenant Ibuki!" Shinji shouted, waving towards her. "Want to go out for ice-cream later?"

"Sorry!" she shouted back with a laugh. "I've got work to do."

Shinji clasped his chest in mock pain and sat down next to Kaji, putting on a very fake show of breaking down into the depths of despair.

"There's plenty of other fish in the sea." Kaji told him, patting him on the back with a smirk.

"I'm sad now…" Shinji moaned, picking up a piece of chicken from the Caesar Salad in front of him.

"Wasn't that Asuka's?" Misato asked, noticing the girl standing behind Shinji that was rapidly becoming a being of wrath and destruction.

"I've just been pretend dumped by my pretend girlfriend." Shinji moaned, apparently not taking the hint. "She'll live."

Asuka shoved his head into the salad, smearing his face into the dressing. "Don't piss me off Ikari." She hissed into his ear.

* * *

"So, what was that all about earlier?" Asuka asked Shinji that night on the way to the swimming pool.

Shinji looked down at the ground. "I was in a bad mood, so I wanted to pass it onto someone else while making other people laugh." He told her. "At least that way someone will feel better."

Asuka put her fingers and thumbs to her table. "Schist… your dad really chewed you out, didn't he?" she asked him.

"Yeah…" Shinji replied, focusing on his feet.

Then he heard it.

He didn't break his stride or react to the sound. Instead, he put an arm around Asuka's shoulder.

She jumped in surprise as he moved closer to her and whispered in her ear. "There's some gunmen following us." He told her. "Don't react, they have teammates in front of us."

Asuka frowned, but made no other reaction. "Morph?" she whispered back.

Shinji shook his head. "Create a sphere around us, I'll activate the panic button." He told her, pulling out his phone as if to check the time. "We better hurry up." He said out loud, quickening the pace. "We don't want to be late."

Shinji pressed the speed dial number 4 on his phone before putting it back in his pocket.

Three men stepped out of the shadows with AK-47's trained on Shinji and Asuka. "Get in the alley." They told them.

Shinji pushed himself and Asuka down as an orange bubble, about a metre in diameter formed around them. The Section 02 security detail burst from the shadows and incapacitated the team of would-be attackers.

Shinji _could_ have taken them alone.

He could have killed every single last mother's son of them.

With Asuka there, it'd be even easier.

He couldn't however, have taken the majority of them into questioning.

That's what Section 02 was for.

Four is Death, after all.

* * *

"We don't spend enough time with Rei." Shinji pointed out as he left the pool with Asuka.

"Huh?" she asked him.

"I mean, out teamwork together is much better than our teamwork with her, and that's not really healthy." He explained.

Asuka sighed. "I feel like ice-cream." She said. "Know any good places?"

"Not at this time of night, but we can grab something on the way back to Misato's." Shinji shrugged.

* * *

Shinji woke up at pig's tail to a beeping sound on his wrist.

It was a different song to the one that played two nights ago.

"It's an angel." Asuka stated, hopping off the top bunk. "Let's move."

* * *

**An A-17!**

**You're launching an offensive attack?**

**Unacceptable! Have you forgotten the events of fifteen years ago?**

"This is our chance to move from a consistently defensive posture to an offensive one for the first time." Gendo Ikari stated.

**The risk is too large.**

"However, I'm sure you're aware how important a live angel sample would be." Gendo replied.

**We will not tolerate failure.**

"Failure?" Fuyutsuki asked Gendo as the black monoliths faded into darkness. "If we fail, then that would be the extinction of the human race. Are you sure about this, Ikari?"

Behind clasped hands, Gendo Ikari smirked.

* * *

"So, this is an angel egg." Shinji commented, letting the ice-cream cone in his hand drip to the floor as he looked to the foetal figure displayed on the screen below.

"Yes." Ritsuko nodded. "This mission's top priority is to capture the angel alive and as close to it original state as possible."

The three rangers nodded. "What are our orders if the capture fails?" Asuka asked.

"Destroy it like any other angel." Ritsuko replied. "The angel chrysalis is underneath the lava of the volcano of Mount Asama, so the Tyrannosaurus is the only Zord capable of retrieving it." Asuka pumped her arm with a grin. "The Dragonzord will be on standby near the site in case the angel awakens and surfaces. The Triceratops will remain at NERV HQ as a final back-up plan."

"Just in case things really go to hell." Shinji nodded. It felt good that everyone wanted to be prepared for Snags.

"Shame." Asuka smirked at Rei. "You don't get to go to the hotsprings."

Shinji frowned, but Asuka missed it. "Shinji, give Asuka the Dragon Shield when you morph." Ritsuko ordered. "It will act as a secondary barrier for the heat."

"Yes ma'am." Shinji nodded.

"We deploy immediately." Ritsuko finished. "Morph."

Shinji, Rei and Asuka brought their Power Morphers out and held them forwards. "_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

"_**Triceratops!**__"_

"_**TYRANNOSAURUS!**_"

The Green Ranger placed a hand on the Red Rangers chest.

The golden armour on the Green Ranger's arms and shoulders vanished in a flash of light and appeared on the Red Ranger's body.

"Let's move." Shinji ordered, leading the way out of the briefing room.

* * *

The Tyrannosaurus and the Dragonzord were both air-lifted to the volcano, giving the two Rangers time to think.

Shinji ran his mind through as many scenarios of the mission as possible, as well as any possible actions he could take in his non-lava proof Dragonzord.

The main problem would be if the angel awoke in the magma.

See, angels constantly adapt to their surroundings. They're evolution incarnate.

So if one were to wake up breathing lava, then its body would quickly be able to resist the heat and pressure, both inside and out.

That would make it incredibly difficult to kill.

There was serious potential for Snags on this operation, and Shinji scoured his mind for solutions.

In the Tyrannosaurus, the Red Ranger's thoughts were different.

Asuka felt the Dragon Shield on her chest.

It had a nice weight to it.

Like the invincible Spartan was there with her.

She leaned back in the seatless cockpit.

Come to think of it, he hadn't really given her an answer earlier, had he..?

* * *

Shinji looked up at three lights in the sky as Asuka's Tyrannosaurus was prepped to be craned into the volcano. "What's that?" he asked.

_\_ "The UN Air Force is on a standby alert until the end of this mission." _\_ Maya explained to him.

_\_ "Hey, I'm Air Force!" _\_ Asuka's voice said happily. _\_ "They here to help?" _\_

_\_ "No." _\_ Maya replied. _\_ "They're here to clean up, in case we fail." _\_

_\_ "What do you mean?" _\_ Asuka asked.

_\_ "They will use N2 depth charges to destroy the angel, and us with it." _\_ Maya explained.

_\_ "That's awful!" _\_ Asuka shouted.

Shinji nodded. In all the simulated scenarios he had fought, the Spartans only lost when the enemy decided to cut their losses and just nuke the Spartans. The Spartans since had to learn to curb their skill in battle in order to prevent the enemy from using such tactics, making sure that the enemy thought that they could still win until it was too late.

"Who gave the order?" Shinji asked.

_\_ "Commander Ikari." _\_ Maya explained.

Shinji glared inside the helmet.

Bastard.

* * *

The Tyrannosaurus's small arms gripped the clamping cage tightly as the Zord was suspended over the magma.

Out of all the Zords, the Tyrannosaurus had the greatest heat resistance. In fact, its holding cage was filled with magma, because the Zord absorbed heat and nutrients from the magma to restore itself. While bring transported by the UN fleet, however, they had to use molten mercury for safety.

The Mastodon had to be kept in ice when not in use, the Triceratops in wet, diluted concrete, and the Dragonzord in brine.

It was yet another thing that Shinji didn't understand about the Zords. He knew that the Dragonzord was found inside the Japanese Geofront, and that the other five Zords were found in the massive Yellowstone Geofront.

Was there a massive angel buried in there? If Lilith was the second angel, then was the first in Yellowstone?

But then, why did Second Impact originate from Antarctica?

_\_ "Watch this Shinji!" _\_

The Spartan was dragged out of his thoughts by Asuka's voice as the Tyrannosaurus's legs spread out in the splits as it entered the magma. _\_ "Giant Stroke Entry!" _\_

Shinji sighed. She always did like attention.

* * *

Shinji ignored the numbers as Asuka descended through the lava.

If everything went to plan, then there would be no need to do anything.

All he had to do was remain alert and ready for battle, if he was needed.

Then, the team hit a Snag: The angel's egg had moved further than they had predicted.

That should have set alarm bells off in Shinji's head, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

He dimly registered that Asuka was complaining at Misato, saying that this didn't win their bet as the angel hadn't attacked, so Misato was going to take the two Rangers to a hot spring resort nearby afterwards to apologise and celebrate.

That sounded nice.

Shinji liked hot springs.

Shinji relaxed.

That meant he was a dead man.

* * *

Only dead men were allowed to relax on the battlefield.

Soldiers who relax on the battlefield are therefore dead men.

Relaxed soldiers stepped on mines.

Relaxed soldiers didn't see snipers.

Relaxed soldiers get ambushed.

Relaxed soldiers get killed.

Because only dead men relax on the battlefield.

Shinji relaxed.

Just for a moment.

For those few seconds, he was a dead man.

* * *

Shinji swore on the open channel as he returned to the land of the living.

_\_ "What is it?" _\_ Misato asked.

"I lost concentration for a moment." Shinji apologised. "I apologise."

_\_ "That's fine." _\_ Misato replied. _\_ "Asuka, proceed." _\_

_\_ "You can take a nap if you need to Shinji." _\_ Asuka taunted him. _\_ "I've got this one covered." _\_

"I'm fine thanks." Shinji replied, not without a hint of venom.

* * *

Asuka smirked, focusing on the target below her.

She only had one shot to do this because of the convection currents.

One shot as all she needed.

She expertly twisted in the magma and trapped the angel egg within the cage, then deployed her AT-field in order to trap it.

* * *

"The target has been acquired, no problems detected." Maya said.

The command crew let out a sigh of relief.

"Nice one Asuka." Misato complimented.

_\_ "Capture operation completed." _\_ Asuka stated. _\_ "I'm coming up now." _\_

* * *

Shinji frowned.

Everyone on the team was dead.

"Asuka, is everything alright?" he asked her, his instincts screaming.

_\_ "Of course!" _\_ Asuka laughed. _\_ "You know what they say, fear is worse than the danger. It really was a piece of cake." _\_

Shinji frowned.

_\_ "Man I can't wait to get to that hot spring." _\_ Asuka continued. _\_ "It's so hot in this helmet…" _\_

Asuka was dead.

Shinji could feel it. Everyone had pre-emptively declared the mission a success.

He opened up an open comm. channel. "Stay alert everyone." Shinji warned. "The angel isn't out of the volcano yet."

As if to spite him, the alarm sounded.

_\_ "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" _\_ Asuka shouted as the angel egg inside the cage of her AT-field began to roar and struggle.

Shinji typed in the password he wasn't supposed to know into the laptop and opened up the visual of the angel.

It was changing shape rapidly.

Its energy readings were fluctuating madly.

A hand forced its way through the wall of the cage.

_\_ "ABORT THE CAPTURE!" _\_ Misato ordered. _\_ "Jettison the cage!" _\_

The Tyrannosaurus's claws released the handle, letting the cage fall into the lava. _\_ "The objective has changed." _\_ Misato decided. _\_ "Destroying the angel is currently our top priority. Red Ranger, prepare for combat as you withdraw." _\_

_\_ "What I've been waiting for!" _\_ Asuka said with a grin.

"IDIOT!" Shinji shouted, watching the angel escape the cage and move in the magma. "The angel's swimming in lava, and it clearly doesn't care about the pressure! What are you going to do to it?"

Asuka's machine beast roared as it absorbed the magma around it. There was a brief vacuum around the Zord which quickly filled as the Tyrannosaurus launched itself at the angel.

Shinji snarled, slamming his fist against the side of the cockpit, but stayed his hand at the last second as an orange cone-shaped light surrounded the Tyrannosaurus and span around it like a drill, piercing through the magma and towards the angel.

The angel swam aside, grazing its underbelly on the edge of Asuka's AT-field. It curved around and roared, launching a blast of compressed air through the magma, forcing the molten stone to compress into a harder mass as it collided against the Tyrannosaurus.

_\_ "SCHIEST!" _\_ Asuka shouted as she struggled to regain control of her Zord. _\_ "Come on you bastard…" _\_

Shinji lowered his hand and focused on the screen as Asuka prepped her AT-field into a thin diamond around her Zord as she tried to locate the angel.

His hand twitched.

His ally was in battle, and he wasn't.

What he'd give to be down there with her.

What he'd give to be down there instead of her.

* * *

Asuka twisted her Zord around and roared as her Zord absorbed a bubble of magma and launched it through the tail of her Zord, blasting her through the molten stone and towards her enemy.

The angel did a barrel roll through the lava, its fin curving over her Zord as it twisted before slamming her underside with the other fin.

Just what Asuka wanted.

The Tyrannosaurus's claws, though gimpy in size, had incredible grip and were amazingly sharp.

They stabbed through the angel's rocky armour as the claws grabbed hold of the angel's fin.

Her prey captured, Asuka pulled the Zord into an upright position and launched the Zord, carrying the angel with it, out of the volcano.

* * *

Lava sprayed across the sides of the volcano as the Tyrannosaurus leapt from the crater and landed on the grass by the side of the blazing mountain.

**ASUKA! **The Dragonzord roared, leaping forward to slam a claw down on the angel's free fin as the Tyrannosaurus righted itself. **So, how do we waste this one?**

The angel, Sandalphon, roared as it squirmed under the two Zord's combined weight. Its stony body was indeed powerful, and it gave the image of an Anomalocaris in its appearance.

**We were ordered to capture it alive, right?** The red machine beast replied. **Mission Accomplished.**

The angel roared, launching a blast of compressed air from its mouth, flattening a good half mile track of forest.

The Dragonzord slammed its tail through the jaw, pinning the angel's mouth shut.

**Are you sure?** The green beast asked to some unseen person. **I mean, we may not get another chance like this.**

Sandalphon felt their meaning.

They were deciding its fate.

It had chosen a perfect form for this battle.

And Lilith's brood had bested it so easily.

Except…

The green one didn't feel like Lilith.

A green Lilim leapt from the Dragonzord, landing on the ground near Sandalphon.

Sandalphon recognised it.

This was the one that murdered Sachiel, fighting with a demonic savagery.

It murdered Shamshel, killing from within like a parasite.

It murdered Ramiel, striking with the wrath of its brood as a bolt of light.

It watched and laughed as Gaghiel was killed by the red beast.

In fact, these two beasts murdered Israfel together.

And now, they had decided its fate.

One of Lilith's, deciding the fate of one of Adams.

But this one wasn't human.

None of Sandalphon's brothers ever saw it so close.

This was not one of Lilim

This is something new.

It placed a dagger to its lips and began to sing a song of death.

With its last thought, Sandalphon named this new beast.

Its brothers must know of it before they come.

This was beyond human.

This was Combat Evolved...

* * *

Shinji opened the door to his room at the hot spring resort that evening and signed a package from one Mr. Kaji.

He was sure that penguins shouldn't be sent via post, even if they _were _hot-springs penguins, if such things actually existed.

Well, that didn't stop Shinji from enjoying a good soak with the bird.

"Shinji, can you hear me?"

Shinji sat bolt upright. "Misato?" he shouted.

"Can you pass me the shower gel?" the Major asked from the other side of the bamboo fence. "Asuka's used it all on this end!"

"I did not!" Asuka shouted. "There was hardly any left to begin with!"

Shinji sighed, picking up his gel.

They almost get everyone killed yesterday.

He tossed the soap over the wall.

"Ow!" Asuka shouted. "Watch where you're throwing!"

"Catch better!" Shinji shouted back with half a smirk, before sighing silently.

"Don't hit me in weird places." Asuka grumbled.

"Eh? Lemme take a look." Misato said. "Ah, your skin is so smooth and smooth Asuka! Now I see why you used so much!"

"Stop tickling me!" Asuka shouted.

"Well, how about here?" Misato asked playfully before the whole thing became a scramble of splashing and screaming.

"Don't touch that!"

"Aw, come on, it doesn't wear out!"

In the end, the only thing a Spartan could depend on was another Spartan, and the heat of battle.

Shinji stepped out of the water and went to get changed.

He felt like taking a run.

* * *

Shinji soon reached the corpse of his fallen enemy, Sandalphon.

It wasn't exactly hard to miss, and they hadn't begun the demolition of the corpse yet.

Shinji climbed on its back to see the hole his Zord had made through the angel's back.

The drill on its tail was immensely powerful.

Shinji knelt down and felt the body.

This was a powerful foe, but it had succumbed to him and Asuka so easily.

Well, that was to be expected.

He was a Spartan, after all, and Asuka was pretty much an honorary Spartan.

Shinji smirked.

No-one is as good as a Spartan, but Asuka came pretty close.

She was a battlefield and an ally all at once.

The two things a Spartan loved more than anything.

Loved?

Shinji shook his head.

Nah.

Spartans don't love.

Spartans are beyond Human.

Humans died in battle.

Spartans never died.

Spartans Are Combat Evolved.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

Dun Dun Dun!

Next chapter will have nothing to do with the original eva canon, so yeah.

Plenty of badassery though.


	10. Augmentation

Alright, as I'm sure you've noticed, I've changed the title of the story to "Shinji 108". That's because it's not exactly a Power Rangers crossover anymore, as the Halo elements have a much larger role now.

Speaking of which, fun times ahead.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**December 2012**_

"_ALL UNITS!" Chief Mendez shouted as the Spartans filed into the laboratory. "Do as the doctors instruct and prepare for the Augmentation Procedure!"_

* * *

_**April, 2013**_

_Shinji opened his eyes wearily on the hospital bed to see a brown haired woman sitting beside the bed, one he hadn't seen in years._

"…_Mom..?" Shinji asked._

"_It's okay." Yui Ikari told him, stroking his hair as she held his hand. "Just try and rest sweetie. I know it hurts, but it'll make you big and strong, okay Shinji?"_

_Shinji nodded. "Mom?" he asked. "I know that this is one of the Chief's tests."_

_Yui giggled. "No, it's one of my tests, but go on."_

_Shinji nodded, bloody tears in his eyes. "I know there's always a trick mom, a way to win… but I can't figure it out."_

_Yui stood up, leaning over to kiss her son on the forehead._

"_I'll tell you the trick Shinji." She said comfortingly as he returned to sleep. "The trick is to survive."_

_Once he was asleep, she called one of the aides over to help pry her sons fingers from her knuckles._

_Calmly, she looked at the mangled wreck of her broken hand, and smiled, proud of her son, proud of her achievement._

_The Augmentation Procedure was working._

* * *

_**June 2013**_

_Shinji rolled his wheelchair over to where his mom and dad were sat, smiling despite the pain._

"_How're you feeling?" Gendo asked the boy with a stern smile._

"_Fine." Shinji nodded, not meeting him in the eye._

"_Don't lie." Yui joked, tapping him in the shoulder. "Yesterday you were complaining about how it felt like someone poured napalm through your veins."_

"_Doesn't mean it hurts." Shinji grumbled as his father produced a cake and lit twelve candles on it._

"_Whatever, crybaby." Yui laughed with a smirk as she began to sing Happy Birthday with Gendo._

_Shinji smiled, but he knew why his parents were celebrating his birthday for the first time in eight years._

_His mother dragged Gendo here because this could well be Shinji's last birthday._

_He wished that none of the Spartans would die from this as he blew out the candles._

_The cake was drier than he expected, but it wasn't stale._

_It was the cakiest cake he had ever tasted.  
_

* * *

_**July 2013**_

_Shinji was walking again. _

_No, he was running._

_He was afraid that his muscles would have atrophied over the past seven months, but he was stronger and faster than ever. At six-feet, nine inches tall and weighing 273 pounds, Shinji was almost unrecognisable from the child he was at the end of 2012._

_The Augmentation procedure worked._

_Shinji had passed with flying colours._

* * *

_**August 2013**_

_Shinji stood sombrely in front of John-117 and Kelly-087 at the funeral service._

_Thirty of the seventy-five Spartans had not survived the ordeal of the Augmentation._

_Twelve of the surviving fifty-five were crippled, reduced to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives._

_Fhajad-084 could barely salute anymore after the Augmentation procedure crippled him with Parkinson's Disease._

… _Shinji's own salute to his lost teammates refused to waver._

_He was one of those left, one of the__ thirty-three Spartans that could still run, and by thunder could they run._

_But was it worth the cost of the lives of his teammates?_

_No way in hell._

_Was he going to waste what his teammates had been sacrificed for him to achieve?_

_Not a chance in hell._

* * *

**2015**

Spartan Sergeant Mana-1172 and Lance-Corporal Ryoma-1337 stood before Colonel Sharpe in his office.

Mana stood tall and ready with her shoulder-length red hair and soldier-like eyes, while Ryoma slouched scruffily, grinning with his wild, dark hair and bloodthirsty eyes.

"Spartan-III's." Sharpe told them behind his interlocking fingers. "Pack your things. You're going to Japan to act as the Black and the Yellow Ranger."

"HOT DAMN!" Ryoma-1337 shouted, throwing his fists into the air as Mana grinned. "WHO DA MAN?"

"I hadn't finished." Sharpe stated, and Ryoma silenced instantly. "You will be in direct competition with the Green Ranger, who is a Spartan-II."

Mana's grin turned from playful to sinister. "Oh really?" she asked. "Now that'll be fun, going up against the prototype."

"A _superior_ prototype." Sharpe sighed, pulling out a large file from under his desk and dropping it upon the desk. "The Spartan-II Augmentation Procedure had a far higher risk involved that Project Chrysanthemum, but nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"So you're saying that even though half of them died, their Spartans are stronger than us?" Ryoma scoffed. "I find that harder to believe."

"John-117 is capable of slapping heat-seeking missiles back towards their targets. Kelly-087 can run at speeds exceeding thirty-four miles per hour outside of any power-boosting armour. Douglas-042 can catch bullets." Sharpe told the two Spartan-III's, shocking them both into silence. "Each one of them is stronger than you, can run faster, jump higher, work harder and kill better than any Spartan-III, and don't even get me started on their teamwork." He added. "You're competing against the best, and people will be watching to see which is better; the method that produces amazing soldiers without a single casualty, or the method that produces the best soldiers with a 56% washout rate."

Mana and Ryoma nodded.

"You are two of one-thousand orphans taken from the ruins of Second Impact and turned into fine Spartan-III's." Sharpe told the two. "Compared to the thirty-three successful Spartan-II's, you are disposable. Remember that, and do not fall victim to your pride. Dismissed."

"Sir!"

* * *

"So, we'll be fighting with a Spartan-II." Mana said to Ryoma as they set off to pack their cases.

"I heard that some ODST guys picked a fight with one of them, and they were ordered to take it into the boxing ring." Ryoma said as Mana's pocket began beeping. "The officer that ordered it said that one second, the four guys were standing, the next?" he made a squishing motion with his fists. "Four fully-trained badasses, dead."

"I doubt it." Mana sighed, pulling out her phone and opening her text message from Chief Sharpe and reading it.

She paled as Ryoma got a message himself.

"What is it?" he asked, opening his message. "Huh." He said. "I think we just got the second half of our mission."

"Is this really necessary?" she asked, pocketing her phone.

"Hey, orders are orders." Ryoma laughed. "Who knows, maybe this Shinji-108 will be almost as handsome as I am!"

"Don't you start…" Mana groaned.

* * *

Misato and Asuka looked at the scales disapprovingly.

"That ain't right." Misato said.

"Not natural." Asuka agreed.

"You think he's wearing weighted clothing?" Misato asked.

"You wanna find out?" Asuka asked.

"It's all muscle." Shinji sighed. "And I'll pay for a new one."

Misato put a hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Just make sure that you're always on top."

"Wh-WHAT?"

Shinji wisely chose to leave the bathroom and get a dust-pan and brush to clean up the broken scales.

"Why does my weight even matter to the greenies anyway?"

* * *

"The Black Ranger and Yellow Ranger candidates will be arriving today with the Sabre-tooth tiger via airdrop today." Fuyutsuki explained to the Commander.

"Are all the preparations ready?" Gendo asked him.

Fuyutsuki frowned. "Everything is in place." He said. "And just so you know, this is probably one of the dirtier things you've done."

Gendo turned around to look at his Vice-Commander with a raised eyebrow.

"Lately." The older man clarified.

Gendo smirked, turning back to his Geofront. "I haven't done anything with my son since I shot him." he reasoned.

"Most fathers would take their children out for a meal, Ikari." Fuyutsuki sighed.

"That doesn't further the scenario." Gendo replied, pushing his glasses up his face. "SEELE wants to exert their dominance over me with their little toys. It's time they saw how real Spartans fought."

Fuyutsuki sighed.

"You're not the only Spartan-I working for NERV, Ikari." Fuyutsuki said. "Don't get cocky."

Gendo grinned.

"I feel like a swim." He said, turning around and walking towards the door. "Have the pool closed for decontamination."

* * *

"_Bulk And Skull Industries_" Shinji asked his friends, sitting on Aida's chair.

Toji nodded as Kensuke explained; "We have Captain Bitch to thank for the name, but I like it." He shrugged. "Besides, now that Murai's come home, we need the money until he gets a job."

"Murai?" Shinji asked.

"His brother." Toji explained. "He just got back from Afghanistan."

"Huh." Shinji said. "I was in Afghanistan last year."

"Hey, Kensuke!" a man in his twenties said, opening the bedroom door with a tray of drinks said. "Keep it do-"

He dropped the tray and his jaw.

"Murai!" Kensuke shouted, standing up and grabbing a towel. "What the hell?"

The older brother, Murai, merely pointed at Shinji Ikari in equal measures shock and horror, before saluting sharply. "SERGEANT SLAUGHTER SIR!" he saluted.

"At ease soldier." Shinji sighed as the younger Aida mopped up the mess. "And it's Shinji Ikari now."

Toji laughed. "Sergeant Slaughter?" he asked. "Seriously? What kind of-"

Corporal Murai Aida clamped a hand around Toji's mouth, silencing him. "Shut it." He hissed. "You have no idea what a Spartan-II can do."

"EH?" Kensuke shouted, standing up so sharply that he banged his head on the door. "SHINJI'S A SPARTAN-II?"

* * *

Rei liked her showers.

It felt good to stand naked and let water pour over her body.

Sometimes she was interrupted.

It was rare, but sometimes it happened.

This was one of those times.

"Nql al-Ftāh." The man with a gun trained on her from the doorway told her. "Al-'Ydy Fy al-Hwā' Wālqyām Bmā Qāl al-Khāş."

Rei turned to face him. "Al-Ydyn Wrā' R'sk!" The man shouted, jerking his gun upwards as his allies pointed two more muzzles from over his shoulders.

One man at the back brought his hands behind the back of his head, not letting go of his gun, nodding at Rei as he did so.

Rei got the message, and brought her hands behind her head.

Someone tossed Rei her a black dress. "'Rtdy Mlābsy." Someone ordered her, and Rei didn't need a translator.

"My hands." Rei said blankly.

One man growled angrily. "'Rtdy Mlābsy!" he repeated, snarling as Rei bent over and picked up her panties.

* * *

The Zord of the Yellow Ranger was the swift Sabre-Tooth Tiger. It was a much smaller and lighter Zord than the Tyrannosaurus, so it could be carried by a team of two drop-ships over the pacific, making the transfer of the Yellow Ranger to Japan a much less dramatic affair than the Red Ranger.

On the way, all the future Yellow and Black Rangers found was time to amuse themselves.

Ryoma played with an imaginary drum kit while listening to Blink-182 on the flight to Tokyo-03.

Mana, on the other hand, studied the file on her target, Spartan-108.

Those weren't the eyes of a human.

Those weren't the eyes of a Spartan-III. They'd been trained to retain their humanity.

Shinji Ikari was a weapon.

* * *

Asuka was doing crunches from the light fittings when she heard a tap on the window.

She hung with her knees wrapped around the light, her long hair touching the floor as her eyes met Shinji's through the window.

Then her shirt fell over her face.

At that point it became clear to Shinji she wasn't wearing a bra.

* * *

"Come on, everyone looks creepy in their ID photos." Ryoma told Mana. "The guy's probably a total tight-lace, but he's probably no crazier than 11-87."

"Arthur collets dead butterflies and pins them to the wall." Mana scowled back.

"And in some cultures that's considered acceptable behaviour." Ryoma reasoned. "Still, I lucked out. This Asuka girl looks like fun."

* * *

Rei walked with her kidnappers as they led her into a blue minivan. She glanced at her Section-02 security detail and noticed that the men were dead.

Not only that, but there were less of them than usual.

It must be because of the two new Rangers arriving today.

* * *

Once Shinji retrieved his flute and treated the crack on Asuka's tibia, he returned to the Aida residence where Murai was playing his acoustic guitar. "Okay, back." Shinji said, assembling the flute with lightning efficiency.

Murai nodded and began playing the song Shinji requested beforehand.

"_Road trippin' with my two favourite allies,_" he sang, fingers hitting the strings as Shinji played his melody. "_Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies. It's time to leave this town, It's time to steal away! Let's go get lost, Anywhere in the U.S.A._"

"_Let's go get lost let's go get lost…_" Murai sang, drawing a breath as he nodded to the beat. "_Blue you sit so pretty, West of the one! Sparkle light with yellow icing Just a mirror for the sun! Just a mirror for the sun..._"

"_Just a mirror for the su~u~un!"_

"_These Smiling eyes are just a mirror for..."_

"Captain Katsuragi's house is five kilometres from here." Keisuke said aloud. "There and back, 10km would take an Olympic runner half an hour."

"Eh?" Toji asked. "But, you were gone less than that!"

"Sorry, I spent a couple of minutes dealing with Asuka." Shinji apologised, pulling the flute from his lips and smirking. "I can do in seventeen and a half on a good day."

"He's a Spartan." Murai explained. "Combat Evolved. You wouldn't believe the shit these guys can do."

"I believe ya." Toji sighed. "Hey, didn't you have something to do later?"

"Yeah, two new Ranger candidates are arriving in a couple of hours." Shinji shrugged, standing up. "I really should be setting off, but I wanted to jam with Murai." He slapped the soldier on the shoulder as he headed for the window. "Later!"

* * *

Mana-1172 nudged Ryoma. "We're gonna be landing soon." She said. "Come on, we need to get changed."

Ryoma's face blanched. "It's not gonna be Official, is it?" he asked.

Mana nodded, and Ryoma forced himself out of his seat with a bleary groan. "Yes Sarge." He groaned.

* * *

Shinji caught up with Asuka on the way to the air strip, and began flicked up his collar so he could adjust his tie. –_ How's your leg? –_ his fingers asked.

Asuka stopped dead, then jumped into the air and did a perfect backflip. "You look a mess." She said, smoothing down her tight blue skirt.

"Sorry." Shinji apologised as Asuka stepped in front of him and fixed his tie.

"Don't make us look stupid." She said, popping his collar down and smoothing his jacket.

"Hm, someone's in a wifely mood." Misato smirked as she walked past.

"Sh-Shut up!" Asuka snapped.

Shinji laughed, but something was nagging the back of his mind.

"Hey, where's Rei?" Shinji asked once he realised.

"Her rank's low enough that she doesn't have to be here today." Ritsuko explained, drawing Shinji's attention away from Asuka's scowl. "Of course, she's welcome to join us, but she wasn't required to attend."

"I suppose that applies to the commander too?" Shinji asked scathingly.

"Of course not." Gendo Ikari said, making Shinji positively jump. "Don't make assumptions around the Spartan-III's."

Shinji nodded curtly.

He'd heard of the Spartan III's.

The Spartan-II's viewed them as something as a joke.

Mass Produced Soldiers.

He'd never met one, but the Spartan-II's viewed the III's as babies.

Children.

Their Augmentation had a higher success rate because they didn't aim nearly as high.

The III's are little more than human.

They trained in culture and war.

War was just another part of them.

Like the free Greeks that joined Leonidas's 300 Spartans of old.

The old Spartans confused Shinji.

They didn't let women fight.

Not because they didn't respect their women like so many other cultures of the time.

_Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule men? _

_Because we are also the only ones who give birth to men._

Shinji smiled to himself as he stood in line.

For all the differences between the Spartans of old and the Spartan-II's, there was one question that they would answer the same.

_**SPARTANS! What is your profession?**_

There was a screech as the first plane touched down.

It went on, its wings passing over the line of NERV key figures as it braked.

On another landing strip, a much larger airship landed with an earth-shuddering quake.

Another vibration was at Shinji's wrist.

"That wasn't from the landing." he frowned as his watch started beeping an unfamiliar song.

He glanced at it, and the monitor read a warning message.

_Connection to the Morphing Grid lost- Morphing Impossible._

"Commander!" Shinji shouted as the two Spartan-III's strode out of the plane in their military uniform. "NERV HQ is under attack!"

"I know." Gendo said. "It is under control."

"WHAT?" Misato shouted, stepping from the line and looking at those gathered at the air strip.

Asuka, Shinji, herself, Ritsuko, Maya, Aoba, Hyuuga, the commander, Fuyutsuki, and a few other select members of personnel glanced between the two, wary of an argument breaking out right as the Spartan IIIs were arriving. Misato, however, was too outraged to care at the moment. "We're under attack and you're just going to let everyone that works for us DIE?"

"Of course not." Gendo replied, pushing his glasses up. "Captain Sohryu. Spartan-1172. Spartan-1337." He shouted. "NERV headquarters are under attack. You three are to deal with it, as Spartan-108 is currently unable to morph."

"Sir!" the two new Rangers asked as Fuyutsuki brought forward a Power Morpher.

Mana took it as Ryoma brought out his own. "Red Ranger, morph with them." Gendo stated. "Green Ranger, you are to retrieve Rei. Only Japan's Morphing Grid is damaged, everyone else is linked to the Yellowstone system."

"I know that." Shinji growled, turning around as Asuka withdrew her Morpher. "I'll need a vehicle."

"DON'T MORPH!" a section 2 specialist shouted. "Commander! The Blue Ranger has been captured, and they demand the shutdown of all Morphers!"

Everyone froze.

"What else?" Gendo snarled.

"They want to speak with you in person sir!" the man shouted. "They'll all off their attack of NERV and won't kill their hostages if we comply!"

"Tell them I'll meet them." He said, turning to the other Rangers. "No Morphing until the end of the situation."

Shinji smirked.

The bastard had it coming, being so cocky without any sense of actual war.

"What are you still doing here 108?" Gendo asked. "I ordered you to retrieve Rei Ayanami."

Shinji looked at the commander in surprise, but only got a stern glare in reply.

Shinji tore off his jacket and tie, charging from the air strip in black pants and a white shirt.

Spartan.

What is your profession?

* * *

"Qd Āmtthlt 'Ykāry." One man said to another, pressing a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.

"Jyd." The leader nodded. "Al-Mdy Qdmā Fy Synāryw."

Rei just knelt on the concrete floor, hands behind her head.

Judging from the manner her kidnappers had dressed her, as well as their language and ethnicity, she deducted that she was being held by religious men from the middle east.

Well, formerly religious men. Second impact devastated most men's faith.

Are they more of those cults that believe that the Angels are god's judgement on humanity and shouldn't be fought?

How foolish.

* * *

Shinji ran through the city.

NERV controls this city.

Yet they managed this.

Where is their base?

If the attackers are the group that tried to take him and Asuka earlier, then they aren't Japanese.

His phone beeped.

Section-2 just mailed him shots of Rei's apartment.

Shinji skimmed through them, and they told him what he needed.

Rei's clothes hadn't been touched.

They took her medication.

They took the medication, but not the clothes.

They didn't want her to die, but her clothes were left there.

They attacked when she was in the shower, but there were multiple armed unsubs, because Rei didn't resist.

They didn't want her to get sick, but they took her wet and naked from the shower.

They gave her new clothes to wear.

They brought clothes specifically for her to wear.

They were never going to let her wear her uniform, and attacked her where she would be defenceless and outside her clothes.

That implies a moral dress code.

Next image is of the gunshot wounds of the Section-2 security detail.

AK-47.

Israeli gun.

The unsub's profile fits with Israeli attackers.

Israeli's stand out like a sore thumb in Japan.

Gaijin.

Close to NERV, but not under the control of Tokyo-03.

The outskirts, the slums.

But somewhere secure, where they could hold their position.

Shinji knew exactly where Rei was.

He skidded to a halt and knelt down next to a motorcycle, then began to hotwire it.

Once the engine revved to life, Shinji took a notebook and wrote a receipt for it as the angry owner came out of the café.

"I'm claiming your vehicle under UN authority." Shinji said, handing the man the hand-written receipt. "Please come to NERV tomorrow with this receipt and number and you will be compensated and your vehicle will be returned if possible."

"I-wha?" the man managed as Shinji threw a leg over the bike and sped off towards the mark.

* * *

Asuka paced around the airport waiting room, feeling useless as Misato bit her thumbnail.

There were others in the room, such as the Spartan-III rangers and other high-ranking members of NERV, but Gendo Ikari was already on his way to the terrorist's base in the back of a van with a sack over his head.

"I honestly expected better of NERV." Ryoma laughed. "Man, how incompetent can you get?"

Asuka's head whipped at the boy. "Shut it Ryoma." Mana warned. "You're not helping."

"And neither are you." He said. "I want to know what the hell that Ikari thinks he's gonna achieve."

As if to spite him, Asuka's phone rang. "Shinji?" she asked, smiling in relief as she heard his voice. She then grinned evilly and offered the phone to Ryoma. "It's for you."

Ryoma-1337 took the phone and put it to his ear. "'Lo Ikari." He chuckled.

_\_ "What is your profession?" _\_

"I'm a Spartan-III and a Power Ranger." Ryoma said. "My job is to fight angels. What is your profession, Spartan-II?"

You could almost hear Shinji smirk.

_\_ "Aru. Aru. Aru." _\_

Ryoma held the phone out as the call-end tone droned in his ear. "He hung up on me." He said.

"What did he say?" Mana asked.

"He just grunted three times." Ryoma said, closing the phone and tossing it back to Asuka. "Why?"

"He's telling you to get out of his way." Asuka grinned. "He's got this."

Mana brushed her hair around her ear. "So, how _do_ you know him Asuka?" she asked.

"Spartan T02." She corrected. "You guys aren't in our league."

* * *

Shinji parked the bike outside the building and scouted it.

It would be easy to get in without the enemy panicking and killing Rei before he found her.

There was a much easier way to do this.

He walked and knocked onto the front door, holding his arms high.

He got a gun in his face for his effort. "What?" the man on the other side of the door snarled. "Hey, the Green Ranger."

"I've come to make a trade." He said. "Rei for me. Please?"

"How did you find us?"

"I'm a Ninja." He said. "I trained for ten years in tracking targets through all sorts of environments. Please, just let her go, it's not right holding girls hostage."

The door was thrown open and two right hands grabbed Shinji by the shoulder. He stepped forward as they dragged him in, not letting them get a feel for his weight, and held his arms out as they began to pat him down for weapons.

"Wjdt Hdhh." One man said, holding up Shinji's glock and smacking him in the temple with it.

Shinji closed his eyes and fell to the side in perfect time with the weapon. He'd had a lot of practice playing possum, and like many other Spartan-II's, he had it down to a science.

He went limp as the Arabs dragged him across the floor. "Nkah, Ānh Thqyl!" one man grunted.

They're complaining about how heavy he is.

That would be the steel in his muscles and the reinforced ceramic in his bones.

* * *

Shinji pretended to wake up as his hair was pulled back and his face was shoved into a camera.

His arms were tied behind him with cable ties, and he was kneeling next to Rei.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yes." She replied.

"They hurt you?" he asked.

"My knees are sore." Rei replied.

They haven't touched her. That's good.

They are religious fanatics that actually practice their religion to some extent.

Shinji didn't have a problem with Israelis.

He liked Israelis in fact.

As a pessimist might say, once you got around the fact that they were better at ripping you off than other people, he found them to be hard-working, honest people.

Bar a few militant fanatics that Shinji killed with great efficiency.

"Wqāl mā Hw 'Fdl Wsylh Llwşwl al-Á 'Yn Yhtjz Rhynh?" Shinji asked in perfect Arabic with an evil smile. What is the best way to get to where a hostage is being held?

The answer?

Be a hostage.

Shinji's hand shot up, breaking the plastic bindings as his fingers stabbed through the flesh in a man's jaw, breaking through bone and leaving through the man's eye sockets, killing him as the thumb came out of the dead man's mouth.

The Spartan laughed, slamming the corpse over his shoulder, the neck snapping under the weight of the body as it slammed into two other men. Shinji grabbed an AK-47 and opened fire, spinning the body around like a club as he gunned down the rest of the men in the room, emptying the clip.

Shinji pulled his finger's from the dead man's face and grabbed the video camera with a bloody hand. "Afternoon gents." he laughed into the camera. "I'm just here to point something out. There's a lot that our cultures can share, you know, but I haven't had a chance to share my culture with you for a while."

He pressed the bloodstained fingers to his forehead in a salute. "May your god have mercy on your souls," he said, "Because I sure as hell won't."

With that, he shoved the bloody hand into the camera and tore it apart.

* * *

Gendo Ikari smirked, locking his fingers together as he leant back in his chair, the TV screen on the table showing only static. "It appears that negotiations have broken down." He said. "You lose."

Azif Ackbar snarled, holding a gun to his head. "SILENCE INFIDEL!" he roared as Gendo calmly stood to his feet. "I'm fighting for the sake of god's messengers! GOD FLOODED THE EARTH TO WIPE MANKIND'S SINS FROM THE EARTH FIFTEEN YEARS AGO! And now she sends his angels to purify the land with blood!" he laughed, snarling at the man. "You will NOT deny me my RIGHT to be a martyr! "

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken in your quest." Gendo replied, reaching into his jacket and drawing a small, octagonal device. "You really should have searched me for more than the guns in my pocket."

Ackbar fired at Gendo.

The bullet stopped when it hit the Power Morpher.

"**Descend.**" Gendo said as darkness and light crept from the Morpher and consumed his body. "**Fallen Angel.**"

* * *

Spartan-108 tore through the warehouse.

He left Rei behind with a gun, instead charging with two Ak-47's of his own.

The trick to attacking enemies with firearms while in an enclosed space was to attack so fast and so hard that they could not aim or even shoot.

Shinji moved at the speed of a car, and weighed quarter of a ton.

Even without having two guns, he hit far harder and far faster than a human being should be capable of.

Some of the more unfortunate members of Al-Mlāk ʼBnāʼ recognised this kind of killing power. "Shytan!" one shouted. "'SBARTYN!"

Shinji rammed the prophet of doom's head through the concrete wall and opened fire upon those guarding the central chamber. Once they were dead, Shinji dashed to the door and kicked it in-

And saw a black-and-gold figure standing in the centre of a room covered in bloody carnage, holding a bloodstained cudgel and a corpse that appeared to have once been the leader.

"You're late." The figure said in Gendo Ikari's voice. "I had to deal with him myself."

The Black-Gold Ranger powered down and strode past Shinji. "Where's Rei?" Gendo Ikari asked.

"Downstairs, safe." Shinji replied, getting with the program. "You knew they'd attack." He added.

"And I knew you'd succeed." Gendo stated. "Well done."

"Fuck you Commander Ikari." Shinji said, tossing the AK-47. "This kind of stunt is unacceptable."

"What would you have suggested?" Gendo asked.

"Ordering me to take a team and kill every last mother's son of them." Shinji snarled, pulling some machinery from his pocket.

Gendo turned around and walked.

"But that wouldn't have achieved anything else."

Gendo paused.

"This scenario achieves more than just eliminating Al-Mlāk ʼBnāʼ." Shinji said. "You assert the superiority of Spartan mk. II's over the III's. You get to test your new Morpher. You get to show me that you are a physical threat, not just a political one. You get me to place importance on Ayanami's life. You get more funding both for Ayanami's security and for NERV's. You get permission from above to have more soldiers on your side to defend NERV in case the higher ups betray you and decide to kill everyone in a hostile take-over. You gain everyone's respect for showing that you're willing to put yourself on the front lines. You hammer the point that we have human enemies, not just Angels. And above all else, you get the smug satisfaction that once again, everything went exactly as you planned it."

Gendo glanced backwards at his son.

He was glaring back.

The Spartan-II was covered in blood, both his enemy's and his own. He was riddled with holes from where he'd blocked bullets with his forearms. There were cuts on his arms where teeth had scratched his skin.

_And he was holding the remains of the video camera._

_It was still recording._

"The augmentation procedures performed on the Spartan-I's, while not as drastic as those performed on the 2.0's, altered the Spartan-I's on a genetic level." Gendo replied. "Their offspring were known as Spartan 1.1's."

He turned around and walked down the stairs. "You are the world's only Spartan 2.1, Shinji." Gendo said, walking down the steps. "You are far more than those cheap knock-offs America sent us."

* * *

The medical team pulled a total of fifteen bullets from Shinji's body, but the wounds did little to slow him down.

Rather, Shinji seemed to have more spark in him than ever.

He was in a _good_ mood.

He was reconnected with the morphing grid.

* * *

"Holy shit." Ryoma said at their apartment later.

"Holy shit indeed." Mana sighed, exhausted. When she saw the security footage NERV retrieved from the Al-Mlāk ʼBnāʼ base, she almost called bullshit, were it not for the fact that the Spartan in question was right there.

He was as good outside the Ranger suit as she was _inside_ the suit.

No, better.

He couldn't jump as good, but his physical prowess was otherwise equal to that of a Spartan-III in a Ranger Suit.

She shuddered to think what he was capable of _inside_ a suit.

"Hey, we gotta choose." Ryoma said, holding the two Morphers. "One of us gets to be Black, the other is Yellow. Which do you want."

Mana sat up. "You've always been one to charge into battle while I stay behind." Mana decided. "You take the Tiger. I'll be the Mastodon."

Ryoma tossed her one of the Morphers. "I kinda wanted the axe, but hey." He grinned, looping the sabre-tooth tiger Morpher into his fingers. "Ready?" he asked.

Mana nodded, standing up with her Morpher.

"_**IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!**_"

* * *

Shinji, Asuka, Misato, Pen Pen and Rei sat down for breakfast the next morning.

"So…" Asuka decided to ask the silent girl. "What's up with you being here?"

"I live here now." She replied.

Shinji and Asuka looked to Misato, who downed her beer happily. "The Commander decided that it was better if the three of you lived under one roof, and since you and Asuka are sharing a room, there's enough space." She grinned. "She moved in last night, so we'll party on down _to_night!"

Shinji nodded, returning to his breakfast.

Asuka just continued to stare, lost for words for once.

* * *

"Weeeel, aren't you a lucky one?" Asuka leered at Shinji on the way to school. "Having _three_ beautiful women living under the same roof as you."

"Kensuke's mailed me a list of rules I now need to live by." Shinji replied. "Keep your hands in my pockets at all times around women. Failure to do so can have unfortunate consequences. Memorize a large list of Sexual Innuendo and avoid using any of it, especially when talking to female roommates. Make it clear that you do not intend to accept physical abuse from anyone, regardless of my gender. Anyone trying to hit you must be stopped. If you are unable to stop the attack, either counter to the best of your ability or else try to get whatever authorities are appropriate to deal with the situation."

"Seriously?" Asuka asked, peering over Shinji's shoulder. "Wow, it goes on."

Shinji scrolled through the rest of the rules, until he reached the final one. "Alternatively, grow a spine and break all of the above rules." He read. "Play the situation for all it's worth, because you will never get a chance like this again."

"I'll kill him." Asuka said calmly after a moment of realisation. "I will actually kill him."

"Of course, make sure that no lasting harm comes from this." Shinji continued. "A once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, regardless of its nature, is no excuse to be reckless. Taking advantage of this situation often leads to death."

Shinji sighed and deleted the email. "Apparently he thinks life is a manga of some sort." He said. "Anyway, time to deal with our new classmates."

"Mana Kirishima and Ryoma Nagare." Rei nodded from the other side of Shinji.

Shinji had completely forgotten she was there. From the look of her face, so had Asuka.

* * *

"THERE HE IS!" Ryoma shouted as Shinji walked into the classroom. "SHINJI-108! THE MAN WHO TOOK FIFTEEN BULLETS BUT JUST WOULDN'T STOP KICKING ASS!"

Shinji stared blankly as Ryoma leapt into a high-five, but Shinji slapped him aside and walked to his seat silently.

"Holy…" one boy gasped.

"He's actually… _in_ the wall!"

"I'm good…" Ryoma groaned, pushing himself out and landing on his backside. "I'm good."

Mana just watched Shinji from the window.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

Next chapter, we return to Canon. Kinda.

Ryoma is a mix between Ryoma from Getter Robo, and Spartan 1337 from the Halo Anime. He didn't get much chance to shine this chapter, but he's basically Kamina in a Power Ranger suit.

Next chapter will be very hot-blooded.

On a side note, how many of you are interested in me continuing Stay Awake With Me, as a prequel series for Fairly English Story?

Well, either way, back to Code Geass. We're getting close to the end for that one.


	11. Megazord

Ah, reviews, I like them.

Weapon-VII, Asuka was a captain in the Rebuild of Evangelion, and she's been specially trained on her own. Shinji, on the other hand, is a foot soldier. A bloody fantastic foot soldier, but the fact is that Asuka was commissioned, and Shinji wasn't. Bear in mind, Shinji's at the same rank as Master Chief, and he's pretty high ranked as it is. Asuka's just higher ranked because she was.

Lichte, shout quietly.

Also, I'm watching Fullmetal Panic. Prepare for an increase in humour, but no derailment.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**September 2013**_

_Shinji was still adapting to his augmented body, and he was concerned._

_He had free time now, something that was a rarity before, but now he had a few hours to himself a day, as did all the remaining Spartans._

_Shinji took it as another of the Chief's tests, to see who would slack off and who would keep working._

_Still, rest was important. Shinji was getting tired easier than before, both mentally and physically._

_On top of that, he was taking in over five thousand calories a day, but he was still hungry._

_He ran a calculation through his head with his height and weight against his age. The number still didn't seem right, so he factored in the changes due to the metal in his muscles and the ceramic in his bones against his post-pubescent body, but he was still taking in more than he should._

_He then derived the sum through long division, trying to work out the flaw he'd made in his calculation, but couldn't find one._

_He then realised that he did all that in his head in under a few seconds._

"_That'll be the cybernetic implants." John said, reading his brother in battle like a minefield. "Or something. Our brains are faster and more efficient, so Fhajad and the others that washed out are working for the UN right now."_

"_That's good." Shinji agreed. "We all want to serve. You alright?"_

_John looked at the wall. "I just killed two ODST's." he said._

_Shinji watched his friend as he recounted how he got into an argument with four men in the gym, and a commanding officer ordered the five of them to fight it out in the ring. John incapacitated the four of them within seconds, killing two of them and causing severe damage to the other two._

"_We're Spartans." Shinji told him. "We fight. We don't lose."_

_John nodded, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're shipping out." He said. "Some terrorists in Afghanistan need bullets in their heads."_

_Shinji nodded, following his commanding officer to the airport._

* * *

**2015**

Shinji ran at a decent pace during PE, but sped up when he heard a massive "ORA!" behind him. He glanced to the side as a sprinting Ryoma grinned, covered in sweat and with an expression of anguished determination masked by a massive grin. "COME ON SPARTAN!" the Spartan-III shouted, pushing himself to his absolute limit to keep up with Shinji, who was just starting to break a sweat.

"They're running at least twice as fast as everyone else." Aida sighed to no-one in particular. "Honestly, are they even _trying_ to hide the fact that they're super-soldiers?"

Ryoma roared, leaping in the air as the running track reached a bend. He landed a good fifteen metres ahead of Shinji and lapped Toji with a grin.

Then Shinji blitzed past him.

* * *

"That idiot…" Asuka groaned from the school swimming pool above the running track. "Getting so worked up over something like that…"

"Ryoma does that." Mana explained, walking up to Asuka. "He shouts as loud as he can and puts everything he has into whatever he's doing, and everyone else runs with him to keep up."

"That's probably why they sent him here." Asuka sighed. "Make sure the real Spartans don't get lazy."

Mana glared. "You really don't like the III's, do you?"

"You're just not as good." Asuka replied.

"Please." Mana spat back. "You were only a Spartan for six months. You weren't even augmented."

"I didn't need to." Asuka replied with a smirk as an orange light flickered in her fingers. "_I _can use my AT-Field."

Mana smirked.

"_We_ don't need to." She said, turning around and walking back to the pool.

Asuka glared at her back.

"Petty." Rei muttered.

* * *

"COME ON!" Ryoma shouted pumping his fists as he appeared in the Megazord cockpit. "WHO KICKS ASS? WE KICK ASS!"

Rei merely nodded as Asuka and Mana smirked, then returned to their monitors. "This is Red Ranger." Asuka reported. "Megazord combination was a success, repeat, a success."

_\_ "Great work." _\_ Ritsuko told the four Rangers. _\_ "Now try walking- careful, you're each controlling a part of the body." _\_

Asuka nodded. "Blue, Yellow!" she ordered. "Work in synch. Black, swing arms to ensure counter-balance."

The Megazord shuddered, but walked.

Asuka grinned.

"Alright, that's the boring shit out the way." She said. "Let's do some combat training."

_\_ "Alright then." _\_ Ritsuko replied.

"Serious?" Mana shouted as a wall lowered into the ground.

The Dragonzord spat flames from its nostrils as it snarled at the Megazord.

"Uh, is it just me, or does that robot look pissed?" Mana asked.

"That's Shinji's Dragonzord." Asuka replied, typing in orders for the other Rangers to follow in order to get the Megazord into a Kung-Fu tiger stance. "No biggie."

_\_ "Bear in mind that your Zords were found in the Yellowstone Geofront, whereas the Dragonzord has a Geofront to itself." _\_ Ritsuko reminded them. _\_ "Do not take your opponent lightly." _\_

* * *

Gendo smiled as he hung up the phone. "How is she?" Fuyutsuki asked him.

"MJOLNIR is progressing on schedule, and Cortana is ready for testing." Gendo replied. "How was the Megazord testing?"

"Successfully, though they were defeated by the Dragonzord."

Gendo smirked behind his fingers. "Tell me about the teamwork between the rangers themselves."

"Shinji has a constructive working relationship with Asuka, our planned rivalry non-existent." Fuyutsuki reported. "However, they still focus on each other as opposed to Rei, so this is still within the scenario."

Gendo nodded. "How do Green and Red perform with Black and Yellow?" he asked.

"Like bitter rivals." Fuyutsuki said. "Asuka truly hates Mana, and the vice versa, though Ryoma seems to enjoy pushing your son's buttons."

Gendo smirked. "It won't be long until it is the other way around." He said. "My son seems to be using his brain now."

Fuyutsuki let out a short laugh. "What?" Gendo asked.

"Your son." Fuyutsuki quoted. "That is the first time I have heard you refer to him as such."

Gendo looked up, the light shining from his glasses. "Dismissed." He said.

Fuyutsuki smirked as he turned to leave.

The bastard had a heart after all.

* * *

Shinji bought a drink of water from the machine during his break.

He turned to see the Black Ranger approach him from the corridor. "Sergeant Mana." Shinji noted, bending to the ground and picking the water from the machine.

"Can I ask you something?" Mana asked him.

"You can ask." Shinji replied, opening the bottle.

"Have you and the Red Ranger… you know… kissed?"

Shinji glanced at her as he glugged. "No." he said. "Why?"

"Aren't you to going out?" she asked. "And you _do_ live together. I would have figured you would have..."

Shinji looked at the ceiling. "No." he replied. "I haven't."

Mana smirked, swinging on the balls of her feet. "So… do you wanna?"

Shinji glanced at her again. "Captain Soryu and I aren't like that." He said. "Please don't make any assumptions."

Mana walked up to him. "Scared?" she asked.

Shinji lowered his drink. "Of what?"

"Intimacy." Mana replied. "Opening up to people. Letting people see that you're human behind all that muscle and gun. Of _kissing_."

"No." Shinji said. "I am not."

"Oh really?"

"Really Sergeant."

"Prove it." Mana said, standing between him and the machine. "Right here, right now."

**CRUNCH**

* * *

Lieutenant Hyuuga watched in horror as the massive monster walked through Tokyo-03.

The Ninth Angel.

It was huge, walking like a massive six-legged spider covered in eyes.

He revved the engine of the motorbike Takenaka gave him.

Hopefully he could get to NERV before the angel.

The angel screeched, and the world shook.

The street lights died, and the bike sputtered and died.

"Wh-WHAT!" Hyuuga shouted. "YOU'RE SHITTING ME!"

* * *

Shinji's hand smashed through the plastic glass of the vending machine, breaking the wall behind it as glared at Sergeant Mana Kirishima as light faded in the corridors. "I would like you to keep your inappropriate thoughts to yourself, **Sergeant.**" He snarled, his nose barely touching hers as his Ranger costume sparked and vanished. "**Spartans** keep their thoughts out of the gutter and ON the job. **Am I Clear?**"

"I-I-" Mana stuttered.

"**AM I CLEAR SERGEANT KIRISHIMA?**" Shinji barked.

"Yessir!"

Shinji pulled his fist from the vending machine and walked away in his school uniform. "One of these days, it'll be the Yellowstone Morphing Grid that suffers a power failure." he muttered, then looked back. "What are you still doing here?" he asked Mana.

"H-huh?"

"That was an EMP, Sergeant." Shinji pointed out. "We're under attack. Get to your Zord."

He turned around again and sprinted down the corridor and into the darkness.

He missed Asuka standing around the corner.

But even if he had seen her, he wouldn't have been able to read the expression on her features.

* * *

"More terrorists?" Kaji sighed, leaning against the elevator wall. "We had a power cut LAST week!"

"This isn't a cut." Misato said. "If it was, then the reserve power would have returned by now."

Kaji looked at her. "How many reserves does NERV have?"

"Main, backup, and standby." Misato said. "Three systems. They can't all fail at the same time."

"So, we have problems." Kaji said. "Think our terrorists hackers left a little present from last time?"

"That's probably the case." Misato sighed, jabbing her thumb against the door-open button uselessly.

Kaji sighed. "And knowing our luck, an Angel will attack now."

* * *

"The air's getting stagnant…" Ritsuko sighed, fanning herself in the heat. "To think that this place represents the pinnacle of technology on this planet…"

"But look at the commander and vice commander." Maya said, turning in her chair. "The heat isn't getting to them at all…"

Gendo sat in his chair, letting his bare feet soak in the bucket of water behind the desk.

"It's lukewarm." Fuyutsuki remarked, getting an affirmative grunt from the elder Ikari in reply.

* * *

Shinji didn't change his course as he noticed he was being followed in the darkness.

He continued as normal for five paces, then spun around and aimed his handgun at his follower.

"DUDE CHILL!" Ryoma shouted, wrenching the gun out of his face. "Just following you coz you know where you're going."

"We're under attack." Shinji said, lowering the gun. "I can't morph. Get to the Zord chambers."

"What about you?" Ryoma asked.

"I'm headed for the command room." Shinji said. "I'll be providing support on the surface for this mission."

* * *

"The Geofront was designed to be a self-sufficient society, even when isolated from the outside world." Fuyutsuki commented. "Theoretically, it's impossible for all the power sources to fail simultaneously."

"Which means that this was done deliberately, correct?" Ritsuko replied.

"Their purpose is most likely to investigate this facility." Fuyutsuki nodded.

"So they could determine the HQ's structure through the progress of the restoration?"

"This was not an internal attack." Gendo Ikari stated. "Rather, this was caused by an EMP charge from above."

"What makes you say that?" Maya asked.

"No… I felt it too now that you mention it." Ritsuko agreed. "But how? N2 mines don't have an electromagnetic field strong enough, and there are no more nuclear weapons."

There was a screeching noise as the metal blast doors were forced open by a young boy's hands. "Shinji!" Maya shouted.

"Sergeant Major Ikari reporting Sir!" Shinji saluted as he squeezed through the narrow gap. "Allow me to report!"

"Proceed." Commander Ikari stated as Shinji stood with his hands behind his back.

"Sir." Shinji nodded. "The Ninth Angel launched an EMP attack on NERV, knocking out all electronics including the Morphing Grid, and I am thus unable to morph." He said. "Please allow me to lead the other Rangers in the attack, acting as support in proxy of the Central Dogma team."

"What evidence do you have that this was caused by an angel?" Gendo asked.

"Sir." Shinji saluted. "It's looking for me. I felt it in the back of my mind three times since the blackout."

Gendo nodded. "Proceed." He said, standing upright. "Fuyutsuki, I'll leave everything to you. Lieutenant Aoba. Gather as many NERV employees as you can. We'll deploy the Megazord manually."

"Manually?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"We have a diesel reactor for such emergencies." The Commander stated. "Go."

"But we don't have any Rangers." Fuyutsuki said as Gendo climbed down the ladder.

"We will." Shinji said, turning to his father and scratching his neck.

_- Which Morphing Grid are you on? –_ his fingers asked.

"The Blue, Red, Yellow and Black Rangers will engage the enemy." Gendo ordered. "Green Ranger, take to the armoury and find a communicator that hasn't been damaged by the EMP field, then track down the angel. Contact us when you have found it so we may deploy the Megazord."

That answer was good enough. "Sir." He saluted, forcing the blast doors open and setting off at a run.

* * *

The four active Rangers arrived at the docking bay to find the majority of the NERV staff prepping the Zords by rope, with Gendo Ikari leading the pull of the Tyrannosaurus.

"There you are." Ritsuko said. "All of you, get in your Zords and await Sergeant Ikari's order."

"Ikari?" Mana asked.

"The Green Ranger's on the Tokyo Morphing Grid, so no power here means he can't morph." Maya explained. "So Shinji's finding the Angel and he'll provide support in our place from the battlefield."

_\_ "Found it." _\_ Shinji called into the Ranger's headsets. _\_ "It's directly above NERV, and it stopped as soon as it found me." _\_

"Rangers Deploy!" Gendo shouted as Shinji relayed his location over the headsets. "Yellow and Blue Rangers move out first, Tyrannosaurus and Mastodon Gattai and follow. Gattai to Megazord once you reach the surface."

"SIR!"

* * *

Shinji stared down the angel. It was a big one, but that may be because it's the first one he's had to face outside a Zord.

He could feel it staring at him, scrutinising him for any recognition.

Shinji drew a combat knife and got ready to defend himself from the angel's legs.

The angel roared, squirting acid from its eyes at Shinji. He rolled out of the way and charged.

_\_ "Sabre-tooth Tiger and Triceratops are en-route, eta three minutes!" _\_ Ryoma's voice shouted from Shinji's pocket as Shinji stabbed an eye on Matarael's leg. _\_ "Tyrannosaurus and Mastodon will follow with a delay of three and a half minutes." _\_

Shinji tapped the walkie-talkie to confirm he got the message, then jumped back and retreated.

The angel followed him, and Shinji turned around to lead the Angel away from the evacuating civilians.

"Shinji!" Hikari shouted, but Shinji just kept running.

Matarael was ignoring the humans, targeting Shinji specifically.

Interesting.

Shinji drew the Jericho 941 he'd pillaged earlier from behind his shirt and opened fire upon the angel while holding the knife in his grip. The bullets ricocheting from the AT-field back towards the retreating Shinji, who focused only on keeping the angel's attention away from the civilians.

He ran out of bullets and discarded the weapon, drawing instead two SIG Sauer's and firing at the angel in controlled bursts to keep Matarael's attention.

_\_ "Incoming Spartan!" _\_ Ryoma laughed as the rolling Triceratops burst through a trap door in the street, ramming one of Matarael's legs as the Sabre-Tooth Tiger leapt from the hole and lunged for the angel's main body.

Shinji pocketed the two weapons and picked up his walkie-talkie. "The eyes shoot acid, and it's not using the legs as support." He said. "It's floating, the legs are weapons."

He heard Ryoma swear and rolled out of the way as a leg stabbed out at him. "The angel's also very interested in me specifically for some reason, so try to take its legs out before Black and Red get here."

_\_ "Better plan." _\_ Ryoma shouted, sweeping a paw under Shinji and throwing him onto the Sabre-tooth Tiger's back. The angel immediately launched a burst of acid at the mechanical beast, but it leapt away as the Triceratops opened fire on the angel.

Shinji reloaded his guns. "Blue, stay near and work down its AT-field." He ordered. "Yellow, tear its legs out of the sockets, and I'll try to find its core."

_\_ "Understood." _\_

_\_ "Hold on tight psychoman." _\_

Shinji knelt on the Tiger's back as it flew into the air locking his legs in place as he fired. Blood and acid burst from the holes as a wave of red blood washed over him as the Tiger tore off the leg of the angel.

Two massive black arms tackled the angel, smashing it into a building. "GET BACK!" Shinji shouted, pocketing one of his guns for the walkie-talkie. "It cries acid!"

Indeed, acid slipped down the Tyrannosaurus's AT-field as a large limp forced the Zord back along the street. "Blue, Red, Yellow, prepare for Gattai." Shinji ordered, leaping from the Tiger's back. "Use the tank mode for now and attack from a distance."

The angel screeched and stabbed its leg at Shinji, who barely dodged it as the Triceratops and the Tiger rushed to the Tyrannosaurus, who sat down and raised the Mastodon's arms which turned around in their hinges and became cannons.

The Sabre-tooth Tiger and the Triceratops slammed into place and completed the transformation to the Tank Mode Megazord.

"Don't shoot." Shinji ordered, ramming a gun into one of the eyes on Matarael's legs and shooting before jumping back. "Ram it down the hill, then bite its torso with the Tyrannosaurus head."

The Tank Mode Megazord charged forward, driving over the hole in the ground that lead directly into central dogma and ramming the angel Matarael. Once the Tyrannosaurus bit down, Shinji barked a new order. "TRANSFORM TO MEGAZORD!"

The Megazord stood up, rising as it changed stance and its full battle capabilities emerged, dragging the angel up with it. The angel screamed as the Tyrannosaurus head tucked into its chest, dragging the chunk of angel flesh with it and from the body, exposing the core inside.

"Can you see it?" Shinji asked.

_\_ "Visual of the core confirmed." _\_ Mana stated, drawing one of the Megazord's arm back for a punch.

"Legs and Torso, move with the arm to put some power into the punch." Shinji ordered as the angel screamed in pain. It was the screech of the beast's death throes as the Megazord slammed it's massive metal fist down on it, fracturing the core and crushing it.

Shuddering, Matarael knew it was dead, its life ended at the hands of these humans, lead by _that creature_ just like all its brothers before it.

But it would not go quietly. With the last of its strength it lashed out with a massive black limb, heading right for the monster.

Shinji wheeled to the side and the limb shot past him, then he stabbed it with the knife in the hand carrying the walkie-talkie before firing his SIG Sauer point blank into an unblinking eye.

The limb collapsed to the ground as the angel died. "Good job Rangers." Shinji stated. "Let's get back to base."

* * *

The EMP devastated most of Tokyo-03's electronics, but power quickly returned to the Geofront once Matarael was defeated. However, those above ground were not so lucky.

Fourteen people died in the hospital, either on the operating table or in the ICU before power was restored.

Due to power breaking, nine people died because ambulances gave out.

Because of the lack of sirens, thirteen further people died as a result of the angel and the battle.

Of course, out of the five Power Rangers, Shinji was the only one who knew the numbers.

He was the only one who could take it.

* * *

"We're lucky that Central Dogma's pyramid protected the Magi from the Angel's EMP." Maya told Ritsuko happily in the corridor once power was restored.

"Most of the data above ground within a mile was destroyed." Ritsuko agreed, pressing the button for the elevator. "Thankfully, we kept back-up copies of all important data below ground, but I'm sure that some will complain about the loss of their computers."

"Well, that's what insurance is for." Maya smiled as the door opened to reveal a dishevelled Misato laying ontop of Kaji.

"This- this isn't…" Misato protested lamely.

"My my." Ritsuko smirked. "You can't be alone in a tight space for even one hour without getting into each other's pants?"

"NO IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Misato shouted, standing upright as Ritsuko laughed.

* * *

"It's ironic." Ryoma pointed out later as they sat on the hill where the battle once raged, now peaceful as they stargazed. "No lights in the city, and the lights in the sky become beautiful."

"But without the lights, it doesn't feel like anyone lives here." Mana pointed out, and as if on cue, power returned to the city. "See? I feel much more comfortable now."

"Man has always feared the darkness." Rei said. "So they carve it away with fire."

"That's the most I've ever heard you say in one go." Asuka said, staring at the night sky in the grass.

"So, is that what makes mankind the special species?" Mana asked. "We make stuff to change the world to suit us?"

"That why the angels attack?" Ryoma added, almost to himself.

"There's no way we can know that." Asuka sighed.

"Actually, you might be onto something there." Shinji said. "The angels adapt to the battle, but we humans adapt the battle to suit out needs. We adapt too, but we stand against them with our fire and our pointy sticks, and we win. It's only natural that they fear."

"Those things, scared of us?" Mana laughed. "You're getting ahead of yourself Spartan."

"You've never been in an actual war, have you?" Shinji asked. "Have you ever heard the scream a man makes when he's dead but still breathing?"

"Yes." Rei said. "I see the similarity."

Ryoma laughed. "So, the alien bastards are scared, huh?" he asked. "We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish, without a fight." He stood up. "We're going to live on. We're going to survive. Today… we celebrate… our Independence Day!"

"Ugh, you have seen that movie too many times." Mana groaned.

"I love that film." Shinji smirked.

"What, they let you watch movies at the Spartan camp after I left?" Asuka laughed.

"Nah, saw it in Afghanistan." Shinji explained.

"You're gonna have to tell me that story at some point." Asuka said, looking back up at the sky.

"Yeah." Shinji sighed. "Some other time."

[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]

**-}+{-**

[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]

Yeah, it's gonna be a fun story, depending on who you ask. You'll like it, someone else won't.


	12. Sex Bomb

Back in Black.

Feith, Spartan 1337 appeared in the Halo anime episode, Odd One Out.

Well, you clearly aren't familiar with my work. Enjoy checking out my other awesome stuff.

Also, for some reason, I called Mana Maya in this chapter. Dunno why, but I fixed it.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**September 2013**_

"_We're completely surrounded!" Sergeant Miyamoto shouted into the phone on Corporal Aida's backback. "No more ammunition, taking missiles from all sides! We need evac, repeat, evac!"_

__\_ "Negative -^- eant." _\_ came the garbled reply. _\_ "We're sending in a unit of reinforcements." _\__

"_FUCK the unit!" Miyamoto shouted. "You don't seem to get it! WE'VE LOST! GET US OUT!"_

__\_ "Negative." _\_ came the order. _\_ "Reinforcements are incoming." _\__

_Miyamoto almost dropped the phone as the bunker shook from a rocket explosion. Could they actually be that ignorant?_

"_Sir!" Corporal Stevens shouted from his laptop. "One drop ship incoming!"_

_One? Are the higher-ups really that stupid to think that was adequate reinforcements?_

* * *

_Sergeant Shinji Ikari looked out of the drop ship to see the battle on the frozen wasteland below._

_Second impact had thrown the world off its axis, shifting the poles and the equator, completely changing the water fronts and environments of most of the world countries._

_Once upon a time, Afghanistan was a mountainous, desert region. Now, a fierce blizzard whipped through the air._

"_I spot thirty hostiles." Shinji reported to the Master Chief. "Two are aiming Mortars at us. We have fifteen seconds before impact."_

_The Chief nodded, raising two fingers and pointing them forward._

_The five Spartans rushed out of the drop ship in their white, winter clothing and jumped the forty feet to the ground, landing silently in the snow as the drop ship exploded._

* * *

"_SHIT!" Miyamoto shouted as the drop ship was destroyed on the radar monitor. "What a waste…"_

_Then the explosions stopped._

_The Japanese soldiers perked to a heightened state of attention as the air outside was filled with gunfire, then screams._

_Someone shouted something about ghosts, monsters._

_Demons._

_Then there was silence._

_Nothing in the world outside the bunker apart from the snow._

"_What the hell was that..?" Corporal Aida whispered._

_Then came the banging._

_A powerful, rhythmic thumping on the bunker's steel door._

_Sergeant Miyamoto steeled himself, then marched confidently to the door with his weapon as he signalled for two privates to follow with their guns._

_Once everyone was in position, the sergeant opened the door._

_Five white-clad teenagers were standing in the doorway, two of them looking outside of the area, as if on guard, while two others were each carrying an unconscious man. _

_The frontmost teenager saluted._

"_Master-chief petty officer Spartan-117 reporting for duty sir!" he shouted. "The enemy has been neutralised, two taken captive for interrogation! No injuries or casualties to report sir!"_

"_But…" the sergeant whispered in shock. "The… drop ship…"_

"_Spartan-047 was piloting the ship." John-117 reported, gesturing to Keiichi, who was standing watch with a large machine gun. "We were forced to abandon ship during the assault. Requesting permission to enter the bunker before we freeze our balls off."_

* * *

**2015**

Asuka sat between Rei and Shinji on the couch as Misato stood in front of them with her arms folded, looking very annoyed.

"So… what's this about?" Asuka asked, chin resting in her hands, elbows on her knees. Compared to the ramrod-straight sitting positions of the other two, she looked completely uninterested.

That changed, however, when Misato flicked the object in her right hand into view.

An empty condom wrapper.

"Now, I understand that you consider yourself to be adults." Misato told the three alert children. "And I'm glad that you're being responsible about this. However, I want to know who, why, and what before this all blows up in my face." She glared at the three of them. "I'm trusting you to be honest with me."

Shinji raised his hand. "It is mine. I apologise for not disposing of it appropriately."

Asuka didn't say anything. Rather, it seemed that it was all she could do not to murder her ally right there and then.

Rei just sat there, impassive to the whole situation.

"I see." Misato nodded. "May I ask who and how often?"

Shinji's face didn't respond to the question. "I use them all the time." He said, answering the question as best he could.

"Is it someone in this house, or someone else?" Misato clarified.

"I… use it myself." Shinji said, not quite understanding the question.

Asuka's rage turned into confusion, meeting Misato's. "Most people would use tissues." She said.

Shinji turned to her. "That would be incredibly ineffective and quite damaging." He said.

"Alright, stop." Misato said, clenching the bridge of her nose. "Please clarify _what_ you're using these for."

"Keeping my weapon dry." Shinji said.

"No innuendos." Misato stated, to which Shinji drew a plastic-covered Sig Sauer automatic pistol.

"It was a technique I was taught in Afghanistan." Shinji explained. "The waterproof nature will prevent the snow or sand from damaging the weapon. You can also use it to carry up to a litre of snow, hold it against your body for it to melt, and it also serves as a reliable water container."

Asuka burst out laughing, doubling over at the absurdity of the situation. "You do realise," Misato sighed. "That neither of those are a condom's primary purpose."

"Of course." Shinji nodded. "The condom is primarily used as a contraceptive, but I fail to see how this applies to us."

Asuka's laughing fit worsened, and she fell to the floor in hysterics.

Misato groaned. "That's it." She decided. "Tonight, after your synch tests, we're having The Talk."

The laughter cut into an abrupt silence as Asuka froze with a glassy expression on her face.

"What talk?" Shinji asked, noticing his teammate's horror.

"You'll understand when it comes." Misato sighed, turning around. "Go get ready for school."

* * *

Asuka refused to make eye contact with anyone the entire day.

"What's up her butt?" Ryoma asked him in the showers after the day's combat simulations.

"Apparently we're getting a The Talk this evening." Shinji replied. "Know anything about it?"

Ryoma laughed. "Oh man, that'll be a barrel of laughs." He realised something. "Wait, we?" he asked. "Both you _and_ Asuka are getting it?"

"Rei too." Shinji replied. "Would that be a problem?"

Ryoma grinned. "You poor man." He said, putting a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Tonight may well be the most awkward of your life."

Shinji thought about it.

They would have a hard time topping that one night in Peru.

* * *

"Yo, Shinji!"

Shinji glanced down the corridor to see Kaji waving at him. Shinji raised a hand in response, and Kaji approached.

"Can I help you?" Shinji asked.

"Well, Misato asked a favour of me, and how could I refuse?" he asked with a grin. "We're gonna have a man-to-man talk tonight."

"Have fun!" Ryoma laughed, a shit-eating grin on his face at just what his teammate was in for.

* * *

Asuka stared intently out of the window on the drive home, trying not to think on the night to come.

"Where is Sergeant-Major Ikari?" Rei asked.

That brought Asuka out of her stupor. In fact, she hadn't noticed that there was an empty seat in the car before now.

"I asked Kaji to talk to him." Misato said with an embarrassed smile. "This is gonna be awkward enough without him around."

Asuka let out a sigh. That was a small mercy.

"Well, we might as well get started." Misato decided.

Asuka blanched.

"You see, as you grow up, you're going to have these…" Misato pondered for the right word. "I really don't want to say urges, but I really can't think of a better way to put this…"

* * *

"When a guy talks to a girl he doesn't know in the city or a store to invite them to hang around with them." Kaji explained as he walked through the Geofront with the two Spartans. "The trick is to smile often, and show that you are a cheerful guy. If the girl agrees to come along, you can take her to a cafe or anywhere else you want. Entertain her plenty, smile constantly, and bring up conversations that modern girls would enjoy talking about. And be sure to include some moderate amount of compliments in between. And you have to pay the bill." He added. "That's very important."

Shinji nodded, taking this all in.

It all seemed reasonable, and highly applicable to stealth situations should he find himself in such a situation.

Granted, Spartans were trained, no, _built_ for the front line and were never expected to find themselves in undercover situations, but he should be prepared for all possible scenarios.

Frankly, he was annoyed no-one had given him this advice sooner, Kaji certainly didn't act like it was top-secret knowledge.

Why was everyone making such a big fuss about this?

"Ah, Commander Ikari!" Kaji waved.

"Kaji." Gendo nodded as he passed them. "Shinji."

Shinji saluted as his father passed by.

"So, as I was saying, a man has to take the lead in these relationships." Kaji explained. "And I'm still covering flirting. There's still dating, sex and what comes after to go through."

"**Ryoji Kaji.**"

Kaji froze at a rare instance of Gendo Ikari having raised his voice. "Yes sir?" he asked, turning around to see Gendo facing them with his hands behind his back.

"Am I to believe that you are in the process of explaining the facts of life, as it were, to my son?" Gendo asked.

"Uh, yes sir!" Kaji nodded, intimidated by the man for the first time in a long while.

Gendo pressed a gloved finger to his glasses, pushing them up his nose.

"Isn't that the task of a father?"

For the first time, Shinji understood the dread that Asuka felt and Ryoma warned him about.

"Shinji." Gendo said, turning around. "Come."

The Spartan gulped, but obeyed.

* * *

Misato handed another beer to Asuka as the doorbell rang, grateful for a momentary break from discussing just how birds and bees go about it with one girl who was clearly very emotionally screwed up about the whole business, and another girl who merely had a mild academic interest.

She was less pleased, however, to find Kaji at the door.

Alone.

"Where is Shinji?" Misato demanded.

"The Commander took over." Kaji said, attracting the attention of Asuka. "He said something about the responsibilities of a father and took off with him."

Misato's eyebrows rose. "That's… what?"

"I know." Kaji nodded. "Now there's an interesting mental image."

* * *

Neither Asuka nor Rei saw Shinji until the next morning as he was analysing his shoe locker at school.

"Where've you been all night?" Asuka demanded as Rei took out the slippers from her own locker and began to remove the shoes from her feet.

"The Commander was briefing me about life before his departure to the South Pole." Shinji replied, not taking his eyes off the locker.

"Well, I'm sure _you_ had a great time!" Asuka griped as Shinji squatted, analysing the metal box. "_I_ on the other hand, had to deal with Misato going into great detail about that week she spent banging Kaji and... what're you doing?"

"Someone has broken into my locker, possibly a terrorist or an assassin." Shinji answered, rubbing some putty in his palms. "There is a chance that there is an explosive inside."

"I… wha?" Asuka asked, before resting her forehead in her hand. "Idiot. There's no way that would happen."

"It would not be the first time someone has targeted the Rangers in their day-to-day activities." Shinji pointed out as he began applying the putty to the front of his locker.

"You aren't considering disposing of the potential bomb with plastic explosives, are you?" Asuka asked as Rei walked away in her slippers.

"That would be the most appropriate course of action." Shinji explained as he plugged two wires into the C-4.

Asuka pulled them out. "Shinji, there isn't a bomb in your locker." She said, opening the door. "See? Just your shoes and an envelope. Now just how squicky was your dad last night?"

Shinji glanced at her. "Squicky?"

Asuka made a face and shuddered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Ke-Asuka."

"Like you'd just put your hand in rotten rice pudding made with sour milk... you were about to call me Kelly." Asuka realised.

"No I wasn't." Shinji denied.

"You know what?" She decided. "Forget it. I'll just decide that you're acting like an idiot because he grossed you out."

Shinji was about to reply, when his wrist began to beep.

An angel.

Rei walked back to the lockers and removed her slippers as Shinji and Asuka bolted for NERV headquarters.

Then the evacuation order came.

"Looks like we got a feisty one today lads!" Ryoma shouted, bolting out of the corridor with Mana at his heel.

* * *

"To think that this is our mother earth…" Fuyutsuki muttered in the spacecraft as he looked through the thick window. "It's so heartbreaking I don't even want to look at it…"

"And yet, it is humanity who wished to create this world that you see now." Gendo said, gesturing to the massive red stain on the south pole of the planet. "A pure world untainted by the original sin and forbidden to mankind."

"I prefer a chaotic world full of sinners." Fuyutsuki replied.

"'Chaos' is merely a human misunderstanding." Gendo explained. "The world is ordered and harmonious."

"So it is human will that corrupts the world?" Fuyutsuki asked with a sarcastic laugh. "And what of your son?"

Gendo glanced at his Vice-Commander. "What of him?" Gendo asked.

Fuyutsuki merely gave a knowing smile, before looking back out the window again and gasping.

"What is it?" Gendo asked.

"There's a man…" Fuyutsuki whispered. "There's a man without skin, standing on the moon…"

"Yes." Gendo said. "That is the one SEELE works for."

* * *

"WHAT?" Asuka shouted once the five rangers were briefed. "You want us to catch it with our HANDS?"

"Yes." Misato stated. "By combining the Tyrannosaurus and the Mastodon, and the Dragonzord with the Sabre tooth-Tiger and the Triceratops, we can maximize mobility with arm usage. You can catch it while maintaining your AT-Field at full strength."

"What if the angel is far off course?" Mana asked.

"Then we'll be out of luck." Misato said.

"What if the Zords aren't able to withstand the impact?" Asuka asked.

"Then we'll be out of luck there too." Misato replied.

"What are our chances of success?" Mana asked.

"You really don't want to know." Misato smiled.

"If we succeed, then it'll truly be a miracle." Asuka sighed.

"Then we'll make a miracle with our bare hands!" Ryoma shouted, grabbing the air into his fists.

"You mean make it work." Mana sighed.

"I apologise." Misato told her. "But there aren't any other alternatives for this operation-"

"How can you call THIS an operation?" Asuka shouted.

"You're right, this is risky." Misato confessed. "If you don't want to do it, then you can refuse."

Shinji frowned.

The mission was full of snags.

The angel's AT-Field bent light around its body, so it was impossible to judge its appearance or location. However, the MAGI had deduced that it was falling towards NERV HQ with the intent of a kamikaze attack that would destroy Tokyo-03 instantly.

_\_ _Sex bomb sex bomb, you're my sex bomb!_ _\_ Shinji's phone sang. _\_ _And baby you can turn me on- __\_

"Now is not the time." Shinji said into the phone before hanging up and tossing it aside.

The joke was hilarious when he thought it up, and Keisuke had timed it to his instructions perfectly, but the situation made it inappropriate.

"Regulations say that you're technically required to write a will before embarking on this mission." Misato said, holding out a writing pad. "Would anyone like to do so?"

"I don't plan on needing one." Asuka declared.

"Who the hell do you think I am?" Ryoma grinned.

"I'll decline." Mana said, raising her hand in polite refusal.

"I have no need." Rei said softly.

"Spartans never die." Shinji stated. "We're listed as MIA. All personal effects would be acquisitioned by the NERV."

"I'm sorry." Misato said. "Everyone, when this is over, I'll treat you all to a steak dinner."

"HELL YEAH!" Ryoma cheered.

"Eppin A!" Shinji shouted, high-fiving Asuka as Misato walked away.

"I suppose that she thinks steak is a great meal?" Shinji asked Asuka once the doors closed behind Misato.

"Does she think kids these days would be impressed with steak?" Asuka replied before shrugging. "That's why the Second Impact generation has really cheap standards."

"She can't help it." Shinji sighed.

"So, what was with that 'Hell Yeah', pretending that you were happy?" Asuka asked Ryoma.

"Because steak is the one food group more manly than bacon!" Ryoma grinned as Mana's face fell into her hands.

"And as we're talking about meat, we're ignoring the fact that Rei is, in fact, a vegetarian." Shinji sighed. "Alright, Yellow, Blue, with me." Shinji stated. "Red and Black are to morph together separate from us three for synchronisation's sake. I will lead Green team, Asuka is to lead Red team. Am I clear?"

"Who made you commanding officer?" Asuka asked.

"Because while Captains usually outrank Sergeant Major's, Spartan-II's are just better." Shinji replied. "So, are we clear?"

They saluted, Asuka's expression dripping with sarcasm in comparison to the others, Rei's non-military salute seeming half-hearted and a second behind everyone else.

"Sir yes sir."

"Good." Shinji nodded, holding out his Morpher. "_**IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!**_"

* * *

Sahaquiel looked down on the world below.

It was here.

Mother.

And the Destroyer.

Sahaquiel was proud.

Though he would only touch earth once, and he would die before reuniting with mother, he would die knowing that he wiped out so many of these vermin, and the gods they have made for themselves.

He would be remembered amongst his brethren as the one that opened the gates to mother.

Who paved the way for those that would follow.

Who destroyed the destroyer.

Who brought darkness to the Light Bringer.

* * *

"So, Asuka." Mana asked her teammate in the combined cockpit of the Red and Black Dinozord. "Why do you fight?"

"To exhibit my talent to the world of course." Asuka replied.

"So, to prove you exist then?" Mana asked.

"I suppose you could say that." Asuka shrugged. "What about you?"

"I fight because I'm ordered to." Mana said. "That's what Spartan's are."

_\_ "You're wrong." _\_ Shinji's voice said. _\_ "That's what soldiers are." _\_

Mana smirked. "So tell me, great Spartan. Why do you fight?"

_\_ "To be on the battlefield." _\_ Shinji replied.

Mana shook her head. "Battle-hungry psycho." She said. "You're just like that idiot with you."

_\_ "You misunderstand me." _\_ Shinji stated. _\_ "The battlefield is where I belong. It's the only place I feel safe." _\_

* * *

Back in the command centre, Misato raised an eyebrow at this titbit of information. It was an interesting insight into her charge's mind.

"Currently estimating the trajectory!" Hyuuga shouted, typing data into the MAGI as Major Katsuragi looked at the swirling mass of static that concealed the tenth angel.

"Here it comes…" Misato smirked. "Because secondary information will not be all that reliable, both teams will be operating on their own. Everything depends on you five Rangers, and the Dinozords you are piloting."

"Target is approaching!" Aoba declared. "Distance is twenty-thousand metres!"

"Very well." Misato said sternly. "Begin the operation."

* * *

_\_ "Launch." _\_

"FULL SPEED AHEAD!" Shinji roared, and the Dragonzord in Tank mode sped forwards.

He registered the Dinozord leap from its starting position, but Shinji held to his orders.

"Mountain range ahead!" Ryoma warned, and Shinji leant to the side as the Dragonzord tilted and slammed its right hand into the ground. The wheels of the tank rose into the air and sped across the side of the mountain range, turning the massive machine as it landed back, all tank treads on the ground.

* * *

The black sphere surrounding Sahaquiel broke apart, revealing a pale blue wall that also broke apart to reveal the angel's true form.

It was like a massive eyeball that was coloured like a rainbow.

_\_ "The trajectory has changed!" _\_ Hyuuga shouted into Asuka's ear. _\_ "Estimated impact point revised to 205!" _\_

"Shissen…" Asuka swore. "ARMS WIDE!"

"What?" Mana asked, spreading the Mastodon's arms wide as the Tyrannosaurus leant over, vaulting over the hill and turning in the air to adjust the Dinozord's course.

The angel above sang as it began to spin, peeling apart like an orange until it took the form of a flowery, winged iris.

_\_ "Distance twelve thousand metres!" _\_ Mana shouted. _\_ "Entry velocity increasing! Estimated impact time -^-" _\_

"BUMSEN!" Asuka shouted. "It's jamming communications!"

"Just keep running!" Mana shouted, focusing on pumping the Dinozord's arms as fast as she could with each mighty leap.

* * *

"DRAGONZORD TO RUNNING MODE!" Shinji ordered.

"SIR!" Ryoma shouted as he and Rei simultaneously raised the legs of their Zords, meeting the Dragonzord's altered movements in a unified running motion.

"And LEAP!" Shinji ordered, overriding the controls of the Dragonzord to leap into the air under the angel as the drill tail shifted position into the Dragonzord's hands.

Sahaquiel screeched as the spinning spike cut through its body and eye, shattering its weak defensive AT-Field.

Shinji cast the spear aside as the Dragonzord landed. "Eject Zords!" he ordered as the mighty claws of the Dragonzord twisted around to catch the Angel forcibly.

"No." Rei stated calmly.

"We're not leaving you to die here." Ryoma said through clenched teeth.

Shinji grinned under the pressure. "Without legs, the Megazord can't reach the core." He clarified. "No one is gonna die."

There was a roaring outside as the Dinozord rushed towards the battle, grabbed the Dragonspear, and leapt above the angel.

There was a surge as the Dragonzord AT-Field's strength quadrupled instantly.

The bony spike pierced the angel from above, slicing through its body and breaking its core.

Shinji felt the dying Angel's blood spill over the Dragonzord like a bucket of water that did not stop, and as the angel's body collapsed around him, he knew that the battle was won.

* * *

"Communications restored!" Mana declared. "The Tenth angel has been destroyed, all Zords and Rangers operable and relatively undamaged. The operation was a success."

"Thank goodness…" Misato sighed happily. "Looks like I'm going to have to pay for steak tonight…"

* * *

Shinji sat on the rooftops, looking at the ocean of blood that had drowned Tokyo-03.

"They're gonna work on draining it through the night." Ryoma told him as he sat next to his superior officer. "City should be fine within a week."

Shinji nodded absently.

Ryoma sighed, leaning back onto the concrete.

"The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath, huh?" Spartan-1337 asked.

"Led Zeppelin." Shinji recognised. "Battle of Evermore."

"Hey, so you do have an interest outside of killing shit." Ryoma laughed.

"I was introduced to rock music a couple of years ago in Afghanistan." Shinji explained. "It's an interest I kept."

"You play?" Ryoma asked.

"Flute, a bit of guitar." Shinji shrugged. "You?"

"Drums." Ryoma replied, and silence fell again.

…

"What you said before, about only feeling safe on the battlefield?" Ryoma said. "What was that about?"

Shinji thought about it.

"It's home." He said eventually. "It's what I know. It's where my friends are. It's where what I know works."

"And then you have to deal with all this shit about girls and whatnot." Ryoma sighed. "Hell, we're only fourteen."

"Ten years military service." Shinji pointed out.

Ryoma laughed. "We are so fucked up, aren't we?"

"Could be worse." Shinji said, getting to his feet. "They could be asking us to do this _without_ military experience. And hey, at least we get steak out of it."

"About that…" Ryoma said. "Everyone else decided to let Misato off and get ramen instead."

Shinji laughed. "And they think they'll find a ramen stand under all this blood?" he asked. "What're they thinking?"

"Who knows?" Ryoma asked, hopping to his feet. "Girls are weird."

"I'm just glad we're all soldiers." Shinji sighed, walking to the edge of the building before jumping to the next rooftop.

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

Gonna do an Arrangements, then another Time Paradox.

We need more voice actors, animators, and game hackers for the Time Paradox Animated project. Contact either me or RWC, preferably him as I won't be able to talk to you when I'm on my mission.


	13. TRIDENT

First off, sorry for the delay. This chapter was meant to be up on Wednesday, and I should be uploading an Arrangements right now, but I had a mental crackdown instead. Not a breakdown, I just encountered a few mental problems and took time out to correct them. I'm fine now.

Speaking of which, watch The Joker Blog on youtube. We have finally found a worthy successor to Heath Ledger's legacy.

Alright, my mission call is fast approaching, so this is gonna be the semi-finale chapter of part one. Kinda. It's also gonna have some WHAM elements in it, as you've noticed from Time Paradox and Arrangements.

So, let's get this going.

Weapon-VII, there will be romance elements in its weird, Evangelion/Halo way.

Yes Feith, that would be a love letter. Were Shinji in a better frame of mind, he'd probably have taken it as a letter of challenge, and sniped the position for hours on end in a comic fashion in an attempt to out-wit his assassin. As for touching base, maybe. It wasn't exactly that important.

John Michael, I had actually started this before watching Full Metal Panic, but I'd by lying if I said I hadn't factored a load of Sousuke's traits into Shinji.

Last question, is it a tradition in Eva fics to have Gendo sing 99 Red Balloons, or is that just inherently funny?

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

_**October 2013**_

_Suddam Hussein laughed as his new son-in-law poured him a glass of wine._

_Today was a good day._

_Today, one of his blessed daughters married a good man._

_Second Impact had devastated his country, and in the aftermath that had followed, infidels had tried to take his land from him, claiming that he had no right to hold his nuclear weapons after the new laws that the UN had decided._

_He scoffed at a well-delivered joke from his friend, before downing the wine._

_Tonight, he could rest._

_Tonight was a night of celebration. _

_Tonight, he could make merry with his friends and family without concern about the UN soldiers, or these rumours of demons._

_Tonight, a bullet exploded in his skull as Spartan-108 burst through the doors of the party hall and expertly picked off all fourteen of the government officials in the room with his rifle._

_Someone screamed._

_Several guns pointed at Shinji Ikari._

_Shinji Ikari neutralised the threats._

_He left the room._

_They participated in merriment during a battle._

_They were under siege, and they took the horse of Troy._

_As Sam would put it, they were Too Dumb To Live._

* * *

**December, 2015**

Shinji looked over the city of Tokyo-03 from Misato's balcony with a stern look in his eyes.

He cringed slightly as someone pressed a cold can of beer against the back of his neck. "Lighten up." Asuka told him, resting on the balcony next to him as she took a drink from her own beer.

Shinji sighed. "I did that on your birthday, remember?"

Asuka coughed up the alcohol, smirking at the memory of the night almost four weeks ago when she turned fifteen. "So?" she asked eventually. "New year's eve, dumbass."

Shinji just looked over the parading city. "We haven't had to sortie since the tenth angel Asuka." He told her. "That was in October."

She sighed. "I know." She said. "And yeah, we all know that it was a kamikaze attack so that the next Angel would have an easier job, and we all know that it's on its way, but what's your deal?"

"This isn't a war Asuka." Shinji explained. "We're under Siege. We can only fight on the defensive. No matter how strong the defending force is, one must keep applying pressure on the enemy stronghold or they'll be able to prepare a stronger attack during the next battle."

"And they actually taught Spartans how to fight Sieges?" Asuka asked. "Whatever happened to 'Show a Spartan a fortress and they'll show you a ruin'?"

Shinji smirked at the memory of the Chief's lessons. "I made an estimated timeline to predict the occurrence of each Angel." Shinji explained to Asuka. "My predicted arrival for Materiel was three days out, but I managed to predict Sahaquiel to within an hour."

"Seriously?" Asuka sighed. "So you're scared because your schedule's wrong?"

"We should be facing the eighteenth Angel tomorrow." Shinji told her. "On top of that, I predicted that the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth angels would be stealth based angels, infiltrating Tokyo-03 and NERV and attacking from the inside."

"You think they're already here." Asuka nodded. "Right. I can see why that'd be getting all up in your head."

"The Angels are waiting Asuka." He said. "They're planning on us letting our guard down so they can strike. There's no other reason for them to be hesitating like this."

"And because New Year's Eve is the one night of the year that everyone on the planet gets drunk off their heads and has a party, ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Asuka snapped, jabbing a finger in his face. "Shinji, I go along with a lot of your crap, but I am drawing the line HERE!"

"Sorry?" Shinji asked as Rei grabbed his arms from behind and spun him around. "Wait, what?"

Misato grinned in his face as she forced the party hat on his head. "Party on, Sergeant Major Ikari." Major Katsuragi told him with a smile. "That is an order."

* * *

Ritsuko downed the coffee as she worked to replace the rusted pipe inside the Zordon unit of the Magi.

All three super-computers had been acting up for a couple of months now, but after they found the source of the main glitches back in October, the system had settled down, barring a few hardware issues like these.

She knocked one of the hundreds of sticky notes from one of the pipes in the narrow tunnel by accident, and glanced at it to see if it was important.

_Hate Ikari Hate Ikari HATE IKARI!_

Ritsuko sighed, screwing the paper up in her hand and tossing it down to Maya, who was crouched near the entrance to the tunnel.

"Um, Senpai?" she asked the blonde.

"One of my mother's insane ramblings." Ritsuko explained. "Just get rid of it."

* * *

There was a knock at the door of the Katsuragi apartment.

"I'll get it." Kaji announced, getting up from the couch. Ever since he and Misato got back together, Asuka's guardian had practically moved into the apartment.

Besides, Asuka, Misato and Rei were currently occupied with making Shinji enjoy himself.

"Happy new year." Kaji said, opening the door to find-

_Commander Ikari?_

_IN A HAWAIIAN SHIRT? _

"Happy new year." Gendo nodded, holding up a bottle of wine. "Mind if we come in?"

"We?" Kaji asked, and his eyes were drawn to the beautiful brunette that stood next to his boss.

The most stunning part of her was the fact that she looked like a bespectacled Rei Ayanami in her thirties.

Kaji's brain cobbled together the information he had and came to the most obvious solution.

"Professor Yui Ikari?" he asked in shock.

Yui smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Ryoji." Yui replied. "I'm hoping that once you get over the shock, you'll let us in?"

"Oh, SORRY!" Kaji saluted, stepping aside to let Shinji's parents into the apartment.

He could tell already that this would be one interesting night.

* * *

"Well, this sucks." Mana sighed, walking though the city of Tokyo-03 on New Year's Eve. "Hard to believe that you're the most likely candidate for my new year's kiss."

"Ya know, every time you say something like that, you double the chance of us ending up as a couple." Ryoma pointed out. "Don't you read Manga?"

"I'm not geek like you are." Mana sighed. "Spot anything fun yet?"

"There's a game over there where you scoop up goldfish with a paper net." Ryoma shrugged. "Could be fun if you're into that."

Mana sighed. "Might as well." She said.

* * *

The Katsuragi New Years party was, as expected, somewhat awkward, but at the same time, very very fun.

Misato and Asuka had to agree that it was going to be hard to take the Commander seriously again after witnessing his dorky dancing. Even harder when he ordered Shinji and Kaji to dance the same routine with him to prove he wasn't a bad dancer, which even had Rei smirking, and Yui in stitches.

He made up for it when Misato bust out the Karaoke machine as he belted out a German song about a nuclear holocaust perfectly, even with Asuka high-jacking the second microphone during the first chorus and trying to outdo the Commander's performance by singing over him.

That was most likely the point where Shinji decided 'To Hell With It All', and began to sing Livin' On A Prayer with Rei.

Yes, there were smiles on everyone's faces as the Tokyo-03 chanted in unison:

"TEN!"

* * *

"Nine!" Hyuuga and Aoba shouted, raising their glasses with everyone in the bar. "Eight!"

* * *

"Seven!" Maya shouted excitedly as Ritsuko smirked, focusing on her work. "Six!"

* * *

"Five!" Keisuke shouted with his friends and family. "Four!"

* * *

"Three!" Ryoma shouted with the crowd. "Two!"

* * *

"One." Fuyutsuki said to himself in his office, raising his glass of whiskey. "Zero."

* * *

**January, 2016**

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Yui kissed her husband.

Misato kissed Kaji.

Losing herself in the moment, Asuka kissed Shinji.

His eyes widened in panic, and two words ran through his head.

* * *

**I AM**

* * *

Sirens rang through Tokyo-03.

Sirens rang though NERV.

Sirens rang, and white lines appeared in the night sky, framing a sphere of darkness that was otherwise invisible in the dark of the night.

And the sirens were silenced.

_\_ "_**Fear not, mortals.**_" _\_ A dark, menacing voice announced over the speakers. _\_ "_**Do not adjust your technology. We are in control.**_" _\_

Gendo and Misato rushed over to the balcony, shortly followed by Asuka and Kaji. Calmly, Yui withdrew the mobile phone from her pocket, but there was no signal.

Instead, the screen showed a text display of the message being relayed through the speakers around the city.

_\_ "_**I have been watching, and I do not understand.**_" _\_ the voice said. _\_ "_**I have trawled through your machines on my holy quest upon your base earth, and you lilim are weak. You are distrustful of one another. You fear and hate one another. Yet you fight us.**_" _\_

"I see. There was an Angel in the Magi all this time." Gendo said through clenched teeth. "It never manifested its AT-Field, so we never found it."

"Dammit…" Misato snarled. "Shinji, if you want to say 'I Told You So', now's the time."

"Move." Shinji said, pushing his way between Misato and Asuka and stepping onto the balcony ledge with a sledgehammer rocket launcher over his shoulder.

"What is that?" Misato asked as the Spartan took aim.

"A ballistic missile launcher." Shinji explained rationally as he primed the weapon. "If the Angel has taken over the electronics, then we're gonna have to take out its buddy the good old fashioned way."

Yui sighed. "Shinji, that's not going to-"

Shinji fired.

The missile passed through the black sphere harmlessly.

"No AT-field, so the ball's either a projection or an illusion." Shinji deducted as the rocket exploded over the city. He altered his target and aimed below the black sphere, an area which all the civilians had already evacuated from, and fired at the shadow.

The rocket disappeared into the darkness.

"It's a pincer attack," Shinji said grimly. "They've finally decided to start using strategy..."

"Two angels." Misato whispered in terror. "They're working as a team now."

"And according to the projected timeframe, we could be facing up to seven angels in one night." Gendo snarled, turning to the children. "What are you waiting for?" He asked. "Morph! Summon your Zords!"

Shinji, Rei and Asuka nodded. "_**IT'S MORPHIN TIME!**_"

"_**DRAGONZORD!**_"

"_**Triceratops!**_"

"_**TYRANNOSAURUS!**_"

* * *

The Green Ranger leapt from the balcony with the Red and Blue Rangers, running along the buildings as the Eleventh Angel, now dubbed Ireul, continued its irrelevant speech.

Shinji remained focused on his target, the Twelfth Angel, Leliel, as the Black and the Yellow Rangers caught up with his team.

"You five, initiate the manual summon of the Dinozord's here." Shinji ordered, before running alone towards the ocean bay and playing a song on the dragon dagger.

Tokyo-03 shook as four mechanical beasts rose from the ground, and a fifth rising from the ocean. The five Rangers leapt into their respective Zords and took control.

"Megazord mode, ENGAGE!" The Red Ranger shouted, and the Black, Yellow and Blue Rangers each got into position and fused with the Tyrannosaurus, the Megazord rising up to face its enemy as the Dragonzord approached the black sphere that may or may not be Leliel.

"Alright everyone, get ready." Asuka ordered her teammates. "We need to neutralise its AT-Field if we're gonna land a solid hi-"

She froze as she felt something slimy touch her shoulder.

She turned around to see white fungus growing out of every nook, cranny and console from the Megazord cockpit.

It was then that the horrible scope of the disaster sunk in. It wasn't a pincer movement – it was a three-pronged attack.

A fatal Snag.

"THERE IS A THIRD ANGEL INSIDE THE COCKPIT!" Maya shouted into her communicator. "REPEAT! THERE IS A THIRD ANGEL-!"

She froze as the fungus gripped her by the wrists and pulled her to the wall. "MAYA!" Ryoma shouted, backing away from the slimy substance.

"EVACUATE YOU IDIOTS!" Maya shouted as the whiteness grew over her mask. "GO!"

Wasting no time, Rei grabbed Ryoma and Asuka and leapt out of the Megazord and onto the street again to see the Dragonzord sink into the blackness of Leliel's shadow.

"No…" Asuka whispered.

She had caused this.

Shinji was prepared, and she let his guard down.

The one Spartan in the city was ready for battle, and she was the one who told him to lower his gun.

That sweet taste on her lips tasted so sour now.

* * *

Shinji sat on the train in the dark green fatigues that he grew up in.

"Hello."

He looked across the train to see a young boy, his face hidden in the shadows.

"Shinji Ikari, Sergeant Major of the United Nations army. SII-108" Shinji reported. "State your name, rank and number."

"I am you." The boy said. "I am another aspect of yourself."

Shinji glared at the boy, then drew a Sig Sauer from the sling under his armpit and fired two bullets into the boy's head.

"What I said was not false." The boy said. "The beings that you call Angels are not alien to those that you call Humans."

"Take your true form." Shinji ordered, gun trained on the boy's forehead. "Name, Rank and Number."

The boy smiled, and blackness rose over his skin. Curved white lines opened over his black figure, and it made itself comfortable on the train seat.

"Leliel, Angel of the Night." The angel said. "I am the tenth of fifteen children; born of the one you call ADAM."

* * *

Fifty-three minutes later, and Tokyo-03 was silent.

Everyone that wasn't NERV personnel or Yui Ikari had evacuated the city under the threat of three simultaneous Angel attacks, two Rangers down, all of the Zords neutralised, and the entire city has been hacked into by the angels, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Yui Ikari stood in front of the gates as Gendo, Hyuuga, Aoba and Kaji worked with crowbars to pry the emergency entrances open, when they suddenly widened.

_\_ "_**Negotiations are moving smoothly.**_" _\_ The voice of Ireul said through the speakers. _\_ "_**NERV has been allowed basic technological clearance.**_" _\_

"You are idiots." Kaji said loudly. "Don't you realise that the UN are just gonna bomb this city if we can't fight?"

_\_ "_**As far as the lilim outside of this city are concerned, Helel is battling Leliel in a lengthy but hopeful conflict.**_" _\_ the voice replied. _\_ "_**There is no need for any concern.**_" _\_

"Tell me one thing." Gendo asked as he strode the halls of his base. "How long have you been observance NERV?"

Iruel did not deign the question worthy of response. In its alien eyes, the conversation was over.

"I see." Gendo replied to the silence. "So we're not worth your attention."

"So, who would this Helel be?" Misato asked. "Another Angel?"

"Helel refers to Helel Ban-Shachar." Kaji explained. "This translates to 'Morning Star, Son of Dawn'. Most of the Angel's names end in 'El', meaning 'Of God', but Helel's different." He said, craning his neck to look at Misato. "Know what Morning Star means in Latin?"

"Kaji, stop being a pretentious prick and give me the damn answer." Misato sighed.

"Lucifer." Kaji smirked. "These Angels seem to think that Shinji's the damned devil himself."

"Of course they do." Yui said. "I look after my children."

The door opened and the four of them walked into a corridor patrolled by several Golems.

Gendo turned to Hyuuga. "Your jacket." He told the Lieutenant. "Hand it over."

"Sir?" The asked, looking down at his black suit jacket, which he wore with a loose red tie, white t-shirt and hat, then compared it to the Commander's Hawaiian shirt, and Aoba's and Kaji's own coloured shirts.

He could tell which one gave off more authority, and authority is what NERV needed right now.

"Yes sir!" The man shouted, pulling the coat from his sleeves as Maya ran up to them and saluted.

"Sir, the Golems appear to be non-hostile at the moment sir." The she reported as Gendo donned the jacket. "Rather, they seem to be guarding us sir. As if we're hostages."

"How is Terminal Dogma?" Gendo asked.

"Perfectly fine sir." Maya said. "No attempt to take the Second Angel has been made sir. Nobody has been harmed or injured. Everything is under control, just not ours."

"I see." Gendo said. "Have the Angel's made any demands?"

"We've asked that sir." She reported. "The only thing the Eleventh Angel will say is that negotiations are moving smoothly."

"Are you aware of the situation outside?" Gendo asked her.

"No sir." She said. "Nothing apart from Ireul's announcements and that negotiations are being made. We assumed it was talking to you."

"Misato." Gendo said. "Brief the Lieutenant. I'll be in my office."

* * *

"Well." Ryoma said, looking over the scene. "We're boned."

"The Commander will come up with a solution." Rei said diligently, sitting on the rooftop with her helmet removed as she cradled her legs.

"Shiest." Asuka swore to herself, biting her thumb through her glove.

"Not helping Cap'n." Ryoma said. "Stop blaming yourself."

"He saw this coming." Asuka snapped at him. "_**I**_ was the one who got him to lower his DAMNED GUARD!"

"Three Angels working in harmony, Soryu." Ryoma told her. "Both Megazord's down due to traps we could never have predicted."

"WE LOST because SHINJI was so DAMNED OUT OF HIS HEAD, HE DIDN'T HAVE ROOM TO DEAL WITH THE SNAGS!" Asuka screeched at him, before leaning backwards, head in her hands. "Shiest… Blue, slap me."

"I'm sorry Captain Soryu?" Rei asked her.

"Slap me across the face." Asuka repeated. "That's an order from your superior."

Rei obediently got to her feet, walked over to Asuka, and slapped her face.

"That's it?" Asuka sneered. "That's all you got? Come on, the Commander slaps your pasty-white ass harder than that when he calls you into his office."

Rei's eyes narrowed fractionally. "Are you implying that Commander Ikari and I have some form of illicit relationship?"

"Implying?" Asuka laughed. "Come on, he modelled you after his wife, he's that horny-"

Rei's palm whipped around and stuck the red haired captain's face with a sharp _**CRACK**_, sending the girl toppling to the ground_**.**_

"Thanks." Asuka said from the floor, rubbing her cheek. "Sorry about saying those things, I-"

"I understand." Rei said, reaching down to help Asuka up. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Asuka smiled, pushing herself to her feet and slinging an arm around Rei's neck. "Alright, think. What've we got?"

* * *

"What scares me the most is that they haven't hurt us yet." Maya said once the command team was gathered in Central Dogma. "They're at the perfect chance to strike, but they're negotiating with Shinji?"

"It is admittedly strange." Ritsuko said. "But if the Angel's have been observing us for some time, perhaps they fear what he's capable of."

"Because Shinji is Spartan-108." Yui explained. "Implying that there are more of him. The exact numbers are Eyes and Ears only, but Shinji is just one of a pack. As it happens, the Spartans outnumber the projected number of Angels as it is, and just one of them has already caused the deaths of seven of them."

"Even so, why are they keeping us alive?" Misato asked. "I mean, sure, he's killed the most Angels, but why let us live?"

Yui smiled. "What you need to understand, Major Katsuragi, is that Spartans and Angels both look at the human race in contempt."

"Huh?"

Yui nodded. "With very few exceptions, Spartans view humans as greedy, slothful, incompetent and most of all, _weak_." She explained. "To Spartans, humans are a liability, things to be protected. The Spartans think of us as a toddler playing in traffic."

She sipped her mug of coffee. "Imagine you saw someone hit a child with a steamroller, and then laugh about it." Yui said. "You would react, wouldn't you? Imagine if it was a friend's child that you were babysitting. Imagine that was your situation, and you were a living weapon."

Yui pressed her glasses up her face. "Shinji isn't the strongest Spartan." She said. "He isn't the bravest, the smartest, fastest, luckiest, most intelligent, and he isn't a leader. In fact, if you were to compare the Spartans to the Starship Enterprise, Shinji wouldn't be the Kirk, or even the Spock or Bones, but there is one thing that sets Shinji head and shoulders above all the others."

"What's that?" Misato asked.

"His anger." Kaji said.

Yui smiled. "Afghanistan." She said. "October fourth, 2014."

"That was the massive earthquake that levelled the city." Misato said. "NERV blamed it on the Second Angel to make the Angel Classifications match up."

"There wasn't any earthquake." Yui said. "Just a small team of Spartans."

Silence.

"He's got a fuse." Kaji answered. "He's got it under control but if he snaps, he'll leave a bloodbath."

"You wouldn't know it from looking at him, but Shinji used to have a severe anger problem." Yui continued. "Eventually, he learnt to control his anger, and use it as a weapon. This was why he was the perfect candidate for the Dragonzord, as his anger lets him go further than other soldiers are willing to do in the same situation."

"Wait, so in a way, Shinji was the Second Angel?" Aoba asked, leaning back in his chair. "Makes sense."

"Sam-034 was killed disabling a car bomb." Yui said. "His death caused a six month operation to be completed in a single night."

* * *

"We ready?" Asuka asked Rei and Ryoma.

"Yes." Rei nodded.

"Born ready." Ryoma grinned.

Asuka turned to face the disabled Megazord, then tucked her long hair inside her suit and placed the helmet on her head.

"Move out." She ordered, leaping from the rooftop.

* * *

"Well, since we're talking about this, what was with that Spartan's Never Die thing?" Makoto Hyuuga asked Yui. "Something about only being listed MIA?"

Yui nodded. "It's a protocol we developed to maintain the illusion of invincibility in the Spartans, both in themselves and in others." She said. "Most soldiers, when killed, are listed as KIA, or Killed In Action. Spartans, however, are only ever listed as MIA. The Spartans know what that means when applied to them, but it distances their fear of dying and more importantly, no one can claim that a successful Spartan has ever died during the course of their duty, other than an actual Spartan."

_\_ "_**Repeat that statement.**_" _\_

* * *

Asuka filled the cockpit of the Megazord with flames from her sword, incinerating the fungal body of the angel Bardiel.

Mana screamed from the flames as Ryoma cut her loose and pulled her from the wall.

"Megazord, disengage!" Asuka shouted, pulling at the controls. "ALL UNITS MOVE!"

Rei and Ryoma nodded, pulling at the acceleration of their individual Zords as the cockpit began to divide.

* * *

From the outside, it looked strange.

The Megazord had fallen on its back, and now its legs were trying to escape as grey flesh stretched, trying to keep the Zord together.

The fungal mass was pushed forward as the Tyrannosaurus's head tried to escape its chest, trying to return to its reptilian form.

The black arms of the Megazord reached to the sky and held each other, before hammering into the chest of the Megazord.

The Triceratops burst free from Bardiel's grasp and twisted on the ground to fire its blasters at the angelic flesh that held at the Sabre-Tooth Tiger.

The legs free, the Dinozord flicked its tail out and flipped to its feet and its dinosaur head burst from its chest and let out a mighty roar.

* * *

"What do you mean, Repeat that statement?" Yui Ikari asked. "You've taken over the MAGI, replay it yourself."

_\_ "_**Recorded data is in error. Repeat your previous statement.**_" _\_

Yui raised an eyebrow. "Spartans are listed as MIA when they die in battle." She said. "This is to stop anyone other than a Spartan knowing that they can be killed."

_\_ "_**Recorded data is in error. Repeat your previous statement.**_" _\_

Ritsuko's mouth opened in shock, cigarette falling to the floor.

"You didn't…" she whispered.

"It did." Yui smirked. "The idiotic angel just listed Shinji as MIA on the official records."

"What's going on?" Misato asked, before cottoning on. "The other Spartans... they're not gonna like that, are they?"

"And so the Angel of Fear experiences the terror of its impending doom." Gendo Ikari said, walking into Central Dogma with Fuyutsuki at his heel. "Fear, Angel." He said, taking his seat. "Fear and die."

"Hold on, what just happened?" Makoto asked. "My brain doesn't work at its best at three in the morning."

* * *

"Simon-027. Kelly-087." Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 declared in front of the Pelican aircraft. "With me. Everyone else, you have the hard job."

"What's that?" Kurt-054 asked.

"You've got the hard job." Master Chief stated, turning around into the Pelican. "Stay here and wait. Kurt, you're in charge of that operation."

Kurt punched the Chief in the shoulder. "Armageddon that hoe." He said.

John nodded, shrugging in response as he boarded the aircraft.

* * *

Ryoma's roar burst from the jaws of the Sabre-Tooth Tiger as the Zord leapt at the Dinozord, clinging onto its shoulders as its teeth gnashed it the fungal body of Bardiel, trying to separate the Mastodon from the Tyrannosaurus as the Triceratops accelerated towards the shadow of Leliel and launched its grapple claws into its abyss, seeking out the massive Dragonzord.

Asuka, meanwhile, worked on slicing through the fungus that fought for control of the Dinozord and, more immediately, Mana.

The Red Ranger snarled, picking up the axe of the Black Ranger and turned it in her hand as it switched into the form of a shotgun.

Behind the helmet, Asuka grinned with bloodthirst and delight as she rammed the muzzle of the gun into the angel's flesh and fired.

* * *

Misato laughed at the Angel's mistake.

"They're coming." Yui sneered. "You better hope that these negotiations happen fast, because if Shinji isn't back by the time those Spartans get here, they will kill you all." She said. "And before you say it's impossible, they'll figure it out. That's what they were built to do."

_\_ "_**If they are so skilled, you would have sent more than one of them. You would not waste our time with your Rangers.**_" _\_

Yui laughed.

"One of my Spartans is more than enough." She said. "Any more would be a waste of their talent."

_\_ "_**They cannot fight without an AT-Field.**_" _\_

"Gendo?" Yui asked over her shoulder. "How did the final stages of MJOLNIR go?"

"Just as planned." Gendo smirked. "In fact, the Spartan-II's were equipped with the Spartan Coins just a few hours ago."

_\_ "_**THERE IS NO SUCH THING.**_" _\_

"Tell me, Ireul." Gendo said, twisting the knife. "What do you think we did with the Pterodactyl? And the Pink Ranger coin?"

* * *

"Chief." Kelly said from her computer. "Shinji's status has changed from MIA to Active."

"So he actually was Missing." Master Chief nodded. "This changes the situation."

"There are multiple Angels." Simon nodded from the cockpit. "The official one that Shinji's fighting, and a computer-based one that's got control over the Magi."

"Factor a third." Chief decided. "Something's keeping those wind-ups busy. Shinji's still captured by the enemy, or his condition would be marked as WIA, since NERV'd be studying the hell out of him for having achieve contact."

"Armageddon still on?" Kelly asked.

John-117 considered it.

"What's our ETA?" he asked.

"Another hour." Simon said. "We'll be in Tokyo-03 before dawn."

Master Chief nodded. "We'll settle for normal overkill at this point." He decided. "Should the situation turn out to be worse than the confirmed two Angels and Shinji captured, we cross the Godzilla threshold."

The other two Spartans nodded.

* * *

Yui whistled as the recording of the Pelican played.

"Well, you're screwed." Misato shrugged. "So, what's the Godzilla threshold?"

"It where the situation is so bad, that everything becomes an option." Kaji explained. "Like summoning Godzilla to defeat Mothra, despite the fact that it will result in the city getting destroyed twice as fast."

"Any and all Last Resorts are now viable options." Yui clarified. "Ladies and Gentlemen, were are about to witness the wrath of a Spartan Unit with all brakes removed."

The main screen turned on.

_\_ "_**Negotiations are complete.**_" _\_

* * *

The Green Ranger crawled out of the darkness, lying on the concrete floor.

_\_ **SHINJI!**_\__ _Asuka's voice shouted from the Dinozord as he stood to his feet.

"RANGERS, TO ME!" The Green Ranger shouted, standing with his legs apart and his hands behind his back. "The angel's known as Ireul, Leliel, and Bardiel retroactively invoke their right of Parley, which is in effect immediately."

Everyone paused.

"BARDIEL!" Shinji roared. "LEAVE the Dinozord and get DOWN to the ground."

There was a silent pause.

"NOW!" Shinji barked.

* * *

Those in Central Dogma watched as a gray… _thing_ emerged from the Dinozord, crawling down its body before spreading out on the floor.

"Did… did that just happen..?" Ritsuko asked.

"Come on Shinji…" Misato whispered. "Kill it… just kill it…"

_\_ "RANGERS!" _\_ Shinji repeated. _\_ "TO ME!" _\_

* * *

"What's he playing at..?" Asuka wondered, before lifting Mana up and leaping out of the Dinozord. She landed on the street below and Ryoma rushed over to help Mana to the ground.

"Alright, what the hell's going on?" Ryoma snarled as Shinji turned to face an operating video camera.

"Commander Ikari. Professor Ikari." Shinji said, removing his helmet. "The Angel Leliel and I have been negotiating terms of the surrender of these three Angels. Requesting permission to discuss the terms reached before you give me my orders."

_\_ "Where is the Dragonzord?" _\_ the Commander asked, his voice speaking through the Green Ranger's helmet.

"The Angel Leliel is currently holding onto it as insurance." Shinji stated. "I have it primed to self-destruct should that be deemed necessary."

_\_ "Granted." _\_ Gendo Ikari's voice said from his helmet. _\_ "Proceed." _\_

Shinji nodded. "The angels eleven through thirteen, Ireul, Leliel and Bardiel wish to be granted asylum and live amongst the Lilim, or the human race." He said.

"WHAT?" Asuka shouted.

"They wish to offer us our services in return for their continued existence and protection from the remaining angels." Shinji continued, ignoring Asuka. "Namely, the next angel, Zeruel: the Angel of Might."

_\_ "Why?" _\_ Gendo asked.

"They fear." He said. "These three angels have little desire to fuse with Lilith and attain Godhood, and would rather remain."

_\_ "We know that." _\_ Gendo clarified. _\_ "Why should we take them in?" _\_

"Their services, sir." Shinji stated. "Ireul wishes to continue serving alongside the MAGI, and has already displayed that he is more capable than the previous Magi, in hacking into and manipulating all other MAGI around the world. Leliel offers us access to the Angelic Armoury, as well as access to all knowledge from the White Moon that was not contained within the scrolls of the Black Moon, or the plates of the Red Moon."

Shinji could feel Gendo frowning at his increase in knowledge, so he decided to continue, knowing that he could only go further at this point. "They also wish to offer the golem army as material the aborted Evangelion project." He said. "Leliel states that if Sandalphon were to be revived, then the chamber of Guf would not be needed to be opened for them to function."

Again, Shinji had to keep himself from wincing at the revelation of his knowledge. "He also asks that after the defeat of Zeruel, that his sister Arael be offered Asylum too, before the last of his siblings, Armisael and Tabris, come for Lilith."

There was another silence.

_\_ "Any other requests?" _\_ Gendo asked.

"Two, one of them being a personal matter." Shinji stated. "The final request that you have authority over is the death of Lorenz Keel."

Another silence, this time broken by laughter on the other side of the speaker.

_\_ "Proceed for now." _\_ Commander Ikari declared. _\_ "I shall alter this deal as I see fit." _\_

Shinji nodded, then placed a hand on Asuka's chest.

"I- What?" she shouted as the Dragon Shield was transferred over to the Red Ranger.

"I hereby relinquish my title of the Green Ranger." Shinji stated, powering down his armour and handing his Morpher to Rei.

_\_ "WHAT?" _\_ someone in Central Dogma shouted as Shinji-108 began removing the various guns from my position.

"I'll be out of my head for a while, but I'll be fine by the time the next Angel shows up." Shinji promised, making a horizontal cutting motion over his chest before spreading his arms wide and falling back into the darkness.

"IKARI!" Rei shouted, diving forward into the blackness. Her fall was cut short as Asuka grabbed her arm and yanked her back to solid ground. "LET ME GO!" Rei yelled, struggling to escape the Second Child's grip.

"He told us to wait." Asuka told her, eyes facing the ground and her shoulders shaking. "So we wait."

* * *

"THE HELL IS HE DOING?" Misato shouted.

"Get him out of there RIGHT NOW!" Gendo shouted as Yui watched the screen in horror.

The black and white orb above the angel's body quickly shrank into a sphere the size of a tennis ball, then fell into the sea of blackness that was Leliel. The shadow-like Angel rippled, then shrank in on itself, shrinking and shrinking until it was only a couple of metres in diameter, when it rose up and took the form of a human being.

"The angel's Blood Type Blue reading is gone!" Maya shouted as black, humanoid figure stood to its feet, and the blackness shrank away to show a boy in plain black clothing and jet black hair. "Its Blood type is Orange!"

The creature with the appearance of Shinji Ikari opened its eyes.

Its iris's were blood red.

_Just like Rei's._

"Shinji…" Yui whispered.

* * *

The being that was once Shinji Ikari stood there, arms loose by his side. His posture was withdrawn, his shoulders and head were closer in on his body, like he was trying to defend himself from the world, a far cry from his normal posture, his previously powerful and confident, yet wise and contained figure.

It looked odd, to see such a muscular and physically large person appear so… _small._

"H-hello." The nervous Shinji Ikari said. "I'm the manifestation of Shinji-108's subconscious."

"What?" Asuka said.

"He'll be back once he's completed his fusion with Leliel." Shinji's subconscious said. "I'm just here to look after his new Nephilim body until his mind returns."

Rei, Asuka, and Ryoma stared at Shinji in shock as they heard a fast, stomping sound behind them.

Shinji went flying back as a green, mechanical fist impacted against his face, launching him flying back.

The three standing Ranger looked at the olive green, mechanical behemoth that stood where the being claiming to be Shinji Ikari previously stood. It was seven feet tall and looked like a human being wrapped in a tank.

There were two others of slightly different build, both in the same kind of armour. One was kneeling on Bardiel with a large battle rifle trained on the Angel, while the other was treating to the still unconscious Mana.

"SPARTAN-108!" the walking tank barked. "STAND!"

The black-haired Shinji Ikari slowly stood to his feet and saluted.

"Sir!" he barked. "Master Chief!"

The tank removed his helmet, revealing a young man with shaven hair as Shinji started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Master Chief asked Shinji, before realising something. "Why isn't your nose broken?"

"Your faces." He said, stretching his shoulders back and cricking his neck. "Remind me never to look pathetic again, it's hard."

Shinji rushed forward and hugged the man.

"It's good to see you again." Shinji told him. "Thanks for coming."

John pushed Shinji back, then punched him in the shoulder and made a traced a semi-circular path on Shinji's face. "You've been with Civvies too long." He said.

"Yeah." Shinji nodded.

"SERIOUSLY?" Asuka shouted, pushing Shinji back. "Why the SCHEIST would you DO that?"

"What, fuse with an Angel or pretend to be buried in my subconscious?" Shinji asked.

"BOTH!"

"Well, he likes acting like a douche." The Spartan with weapon trained on Bardiel, a woman, pointed out. "As for faking mental trauma, do explain."

Shinji laughed at that. His shadow raised its hands behind its head, leant back and shook its head.

* * *

Yui's face fell into her palm as Ritsuko sighed against a wall. Misato collapsed into a chair, biting her thumbnail as Kaji placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Happy new year." Fuyutsuki muttered to Gendo.

"Happy new year." Gendo stoically agreed.

_\_ "She's not breathing!" _\_ Simon-027 shouted, tearing off the Black Ranger's helmet and giving her the kiss of life before attempting to get her heart beating again. _\_ "We need medics up here STAT!" _\_

* * *

**-}+{-**

* * *

So, yeah. Canon? Bye bye.

And yes, Master Chief is in Tokyo-03.

And the next angel on the list is Zeruel.

Ladies and gentlemen, don't you just _know_ that this will kick ass?

Oh, and Shinji's now part-angel. This can only lead to good things.

Too bad the next chapter will be Evangelion-standard bleak.


	14. If it keeps on raining - Part I

_**First off, for all those who have read Fall Of Reach, sorry but the start of this chapter is going to be very familiar. Also, hey. Back.**_

_**Now for some review answering. Bet half of you don't even remember your questions.**_

_**Lonewolfbloodstorm, there are plans for the White Ranger. I feel that you will be pleased.**_

_**Have a little Feith, I wouldn't say that Asuka has Shinji at this moment in time. Spartan-II's view romance as a bad thing.**_

_**CMV, everything goes so well together because I wrote it.**_

_**Guest, I roll how I roll.**_

_**Chaosgriffin, it was a time skip.**_

_**Reviews over!**_

_**Here begins the second arc of Shinji-108. **_

* * *

**=]+[=**

* * *

_**August 2004**_

_"You're in trouble." Matt told John, shoving him to make him look at the pretty lady below._

_She was wearing a knee-length white dress, and she was holding a straw hat that protected her face from the sun. She was looking directly at John._

_John was a big boy. He was a full head taller than anyone in his class, had blonde hair, freckles, a gap in his teeth and was currently sporting a split lip. He got that fighting off the three kids that had ganged up on him to push him down the hill._

_He still fought his way back up._

_He was always the King of the Hill._

_The other kids began to leg it, but John stood there defiantly. He hadn't done anything wrong, but even if he had, he wasn't scared of any grown-ups._

_"Can I speak with you please?" The lady asked him._

_John broke eye contact, noticing that he'd torn his trousers. Mom was going to tan his hide for that._

_But that didn't mean he was scared of this lady. He walked down the hill towards her. The other kids laughed, one throwing a rock, but John ignored it for now. He'd get them back later._

_The lady walked with John to the sandpit and sat down with him. "What's your name?" She asked._

_"I'm John." He said, holding his hand to shake. The lady seemed surprised, but shook it anyway. John made sure that he held a firm grip, showing that he wasn't scared. _

_"It's very nice to meet you." The lady said, smiling politely. "I wanted to ask what you were doing?"_

_"Winning." John replied, without any hesitation. _

_The lady smiled, a slightly different one, like he said something funny. "You like games." She nodded. "So do I."_

_John sighed, relaxing as it seemed that he wasn't in trouble. "Yeah, but they made me play chess last week. That got boring. It's too easy to win." John breathed, then continued. "Or- can we play dodgeball?" he asked. "They don't let me play dodgeball anymore, but maybe if you tell them it's okay?"_

_"I have a different game I want you to try. Look." She told him, reaching into her purse and pulling out a silver coin. "People used coins like this for currency when I was your age, before second impact."_

_The sun gleamed from the quarter as the lady turned it in her fingers. John wanted it. He reached for it, but the lady moved it away. "Each side is different. Do you see?" She asked, still turning it between her thumb and forefinger. "One has the face of a man with long hair. The other side has a bird, called an eagle, and it's holding-"_

_"Arrows." John interrupted._

_"Yes, good." The lady nodded, impressed for some reason. "We'll use this coin in our game. If you win you can keep it."_

_That got John's attention. "Okay." He told her. "I always win, though. That's why they won't let me play dodgeball anymore."_

_"I'm sure you do." The lady said with a smile, humouring him. _

_"What's the game?" John asked._

_"It's very simple. I toss the coin like this." She flicked her wrist, snapped her thumb, and the coin flew into the air, spinning as it went, and landed in the sand. "Next time, though, before it lands, I want you to tell me if it will fall with the face of the man showing or with the eagle holding the arrows."_

_"I got it." John said as he tensed, bending his knees. His eyes seemed to unfocus._

_The lady picked up the coin. "Ready?" She asked. The boy nodded, and she tossed it, making sure to give it plenty of spin._

_John watched it rise into the air, then followed it as the coin began its descent._

_His hand snapped out and snatched the quarter out of the air._

_He held his closed fist outstretched. "Eagle!" He shouted._

_The lady reached for the hand and peeled open the tiny fist._

_Eagle._

_John could see the lady thinking. She was very impressed._

_"I get to keep it, right?" John asked, closing his hand and pulling away. "That's what you said."_

_"Yes, you can keep it, John." The lady said, then her smile vanished for a split second._

_That surprised John. "Can we play again?" He asked the lady._

_She stood up and stepped back. "That's the only one I had, I'm afraid. I have to leave now." She told him. "Go and play with your friends."_

_"Thanks." John said, turning around and going dashing back to his peers, showing off his new trophy._

_Yui Ikari forced herself not to smile as the boy left, knowing that in a few short months, he might be dead. Instead, she turned around and walked towards Lieutenant Keyes. "Tell me you recorded that." She demanded, eager to look over the footage._

* * *

**January 2016**

Yui collapsed into her chair, exhausted. She always knew the risks, like spinning a cosmic roulette table, she had always known that her life's work was a long shot, but the payoff was potentially huge,

That last night had been one of those where the ball could have gone in either slot. And she didn't even know if the current situation was good or bad.

She had Spartans in Tokyo-03. This could be very good or very bad.

Shinji was no longer capable of using the Green Ranger coin. This was bad.

Shinji had fused with an angel, and appeared to be in control. This is potentially very good, or very bad.

Angels have surrendered. This is good. Angels have taken control of NERV computers. This is bad.

Angels want SEELE dead. This is good. They want NERV to do it. This is bad.

This whole situation could either end up as a jackpot or with the mob burying her corpse in the desert.

This could mean absolute victory against the angels, or the death of all her Spartans.

"Good morning, Doctor Ikari."

Yui turned around to face Cortana, who cross-legged, hovering a centimetre above the desk. Cortana was slender, her skin varying between blue and lavender, depending on her mood or the light around her. Her 'hair' was fairly short, like her own, and her face had a hard, angular beauty about it. Lines of code flickered up and down her body. And if you looked at her at the right angle, you can just about see her skeleton...

Cortana smiled. "So... I read the report of last night's mess-"

"-which was classified as Top Secret, Eyes Only." Yui interrupted.

"Hmm, must have skipped over that part." Cortana lied, hopping of the desk and walking around Yui's office.

An office Yui wasn't supposed to have and an AI that wasn't supposed to exist.

"I assume you also read the classified data from Shinji-108's medical exam?" Yui asked, accustomed to Cortana's disregard for rules and regulations.

"I might have seen that somewhere." Cortana replied in a matter-of-fact manner while suppressing a smirk.

"Your conclusions?" Yui asked.

"They have no idea what's going on and are missing the blindingly obvious."

"Oh?" Yui asked, taunting Cortana to explain why her AI mind was so superior to those 'drones' down at the MAGI.

"They're looking for similarities between Shinji and Rei, even though they're completely different." Cortana stated. "Rei was cloned from human and Lilith DNA, Lilith being the primordial mother of the human race, whereas Shinji was already human, at one point, and then fused with an Angel. Rei is a combination of the human race now and the human race as it once was, while Shinji _was_ a fusion of what the human race may become, and a completely different evolutionary branch. His blood type is completely angel, yet his molecular structure bears none of the wave/particle pattern the previous angel samples have shown. And yet, he is lacking the S2 engine that all angels carry within their core."

"Perhaps that is kept within his shadow, which is actually the angel Leliel?" Yui asked, getting a spark of laughter from Cortana.

"Hardly." Cortana said. "Shinji's AT field is human, like a Power-Rangers, only cleaner. The shadow is his, and has no AT field, though its behaviour does suggest an alternative personality." Cortana grinned. "Your son's Peter Pan. How does that make you feel?"

Yui sighed. Cortana was brilliant, but with all that processing power, she was always doing a thousand things at once just to stave off the boredom. Of course she was downloading works of fiction while performing calculations that would cause the MAGI to overheat!

"Your conclusions, Cortana?" Yui reminded her.

"Insufficient data for a complete analysis, Doctor."

"Hypothesize."

Cortana bit her lower lip. "There are two possibilities." She said. "Either Shinji is still Spartan with Angel knowledge and capabilities, and will be an incredible fighting force alongside the Spartans in future, or Shinji and Leliel have truly fused, creating a being like unto the race that created the Zords and geofronts. Either conclusion opens up several new opportunities-"

"I am aware of that." Yui interrupted, knowing that if she didn't, Cortana would go on all day. "One of these is Project ZEO."

Cortana twisted around to face her. "They approved the final phase?"

Yui smirked. "Is it possible that I know something that you don't?" She asked cheekily.

Cortana's brow wrinkled in frustration, then smoothed out into her normal, placid, expression. "I suppose that is a remote possibility." She admitted. "If you like, I could calculate those odds."

"No, thank you." Yui replied. Cortana reminded her too much of herself. While that was most likely because Cortana was made from a clone of her own brain, Cortana quite similar to her teenage self. Too brilliant to be pulled down by anyone else, and loved to show it off. Yui suddenly had a lot more sympathy for those who had to put up with her during her teens, but they had seemed to enjoy the show for the most part.

Yui, on the other hand, was somewhat grateful she had been able to raise Shinji in her Spartan-II program. Unfortunately, the program didn't seem to do much to calm him down; to the contrary, it had only given him discipline and drive to complete his varied exploits, if that little stunt from earlier was any indication.

Cortana leaned over Yui's desk, looking straight into her eyes. "When does it become fully operational?" She asked.

"Soon." Yui replied. "There's still a few-"

"Which one will be mine?"

Yui liked that impertinent spark about Cortana, no matter how much she complained about it. It was slightly amusing, having watched the drama at the Katsuragi household, seeing how similar Cortana was to Rei at some times, and to Asuka at other times.

And yet so fully, fully Yui.

Hm. Time to test the similarities. Yui picked out a Spartan in her mind and said "Which one do you want?"

Cortana leapt to her feet and examined the pictures on the wall. Her hands gravitated to one in particular, one where the Spartan in question was awarded yet another medal. "He looks so serious." She murmured. "Thoughtful eyes though. Attractive in a primitive animal sort of way, don't you think so, Doctor?"

Yui blushed, but then suppressed it. Apparently she did think so, since her tastes were the same as Cortana's, only held back by normal social and military protocols.

The problem was, that was also the Spartan she had in mind.

She couldn't have a Cortana that made it so easy to read into Yui's plans.

"Perhaps it would be better if you chose another-" Yui suggested, to which Cortana turned to face her, eyebrow raised.

"You _did_ say I could pick which one I wanted."

"It was a question, not an invitation to the buffet." Yui replied sternly. "There's still compatibility issues to consider-"

"His neural patterns are in synch with mine within two percent. With the new interface we'll be installing, that should fall well within acceptable limits. In fact..." Cortana stopped speaking as the symbols on her body flashed white and began to move at an incredible speed, rising and falling across her body before returning suddenly to their previous speed and colour as Cortana smiled, flicking her hair playfully. "I have just developed a custom interface buffer that will bring us within zero point zero eight one percent. You won't be able to find a better match amongst the others."

She sat on a chair, resting on its back and spreading her legs around either side of the seat. "I can guarantee that. I just read their files."

"I see." Yui said, standing to her feet and pacing.

Why was she hesitating? The match was superb. Even without her own bias, Cortana's suggestion was not unreasonable, in fact, it was the ideal option. Was it because she'd chosen Yui's own favourite?

Did it matter?

Who better to protect him?

Yui walked over to the picture Cortana was looking at, and Cortana rose and stood beside her. "He was awarded the Legion of Honour medallion because he dove into a bunker of enemy soldiers." Yui told Cortana. "He took out thirty by himself and saved a platoon of marines who were pinned down by the stationary heavy fire placement. I've read the report, and I still don't know how he managed it. You've read his CSV?"

"I'm rereading it right now." Cortana replied.

"Then you know he is neither the smartest nor strongest of the Spartans." Yui told her. "But he is the bravest- and possibly the luckiest. And in my opinion, he is the best."

"Yes." Cortana whispered. "I concur with your analysis, Doctor."

"But could you sacrifice him if you had to?" Yui asked her. "Could you watch him die?"

Cortana froze mid calculation, the symbols dancing across her skin motionless.

"My priority Alpha order is to complete the mission." Cortana stated in an emotionless manner that would put Rei to shame. "The Spartan's safety as well as mine is a Beta-level priority command."

"Good." Yui said, returning to her desk and opening a file. "Then you can have him."

Cortana's processors flared to life as she hopped on the balls of her feet excitedly.

* * *

Shinji sat in his cell, opposite the armoured giant opposite him.

John-117 removed his helmet and looked Shinji in the eye.

"Now what the hell was that?' John asked him.

Silently, Shinji flicked a finger vertically upright, then shook his head.

John's eyes widened in horror.

_'Clockworks?'_ John asked silently, to which Shinji nodded, while making a horizontal cut across the chest.

"Gendo was a snag." Shinji said, making a point to sit on his hands, ending the silent conversation. "I needed time to think without his watching my every move. Mendez has nothing on him."

John frowned. Normally, such a statement against the Chief was tantamount to blasphemy amongst the Spartans, but if Gendo had decoded the Spartan language...

He was trouble.

"You've gotten cozy with the Clockworks." John commented. "The redhead and the Yui doll seemed particularly attached."

"My orders were to work with my unit." Shinji replied. "Contention in the unit wastes lives."

"Spartan, I have seen you look Mendez in the eye and stand your ground while being disciplined for taking the lives of his men." The Master Chief told Shinji. "I have never seen you try and worm your way out of a situation, not once, so tell me what it is you are so guilty of, so we can get this out of the way."

Shinji blinked, and then looked down.

Then looked back up at his oldest friend, and leant back against the wall, hands running through his just-over regulation hair.

"...fraternization."

* * *

Ryoma-1337 hadn't left Mana's side since she came out of surgery.

She was still on life support, with machines controlling her breathing and heart rate for her.

He wouldn't hold her hand.

She'd smash his head in for that.

She wouldn't have accepted that, seeing it as a sign of weakness from both herself and her comrade.

So Ryoma was able to see the green lumps on her neck.

They were large.

He did the sensible thing and called for the doctor.

* * *

"Hey, Kelly-087." Asuka said, approaching the two armoured behemoths that guarded the entry way into the cells. "Simon-027. How's it been?"

Kelly turned her armoured head to Asuka, then back in its rigid position. "T-02." She said. "I have been well."

...

Asuka felt somewhat awkward trying to solicit a conversation with the humanoid tank, even if they'd both been little girls once.

No, even then, Kelly was a soldier.

The only sign of femininity you could see of Kelly now what the white rabbit marking on the breastplate of her olive-green armour.

Wait.

No, that's a reference to her nickname. How she's so fast no one can catch her.

This was going from bad to worse quickly.

How much had they changed since they had met in Boot Camp.

And why was Shinji so willing to get along with her when these... These Spartans refused?

Sigh.

Well, they'd come around.

They were all going to be working together from now on, right?

...

Somehow, Asuka couldn't convince herself that it was going to work itself out nicely.

And she had no idea how to get around it.

Even Shinji was slightly human by the time Asuka was teamed up with him.

* * *

Ritsuko was not liking the changes Ireul had made in her magi. Mother had designed them on the three prototypes of ideal man: Zordon, The wise father, Alpha 5, the attentive son, and Ninjor, the protecting lover.

And the angel had overwritten them.

Not enough to cause significant damage, at least not to its cognitive functions.

Only, now Alpha 5 was the dominant one, as opposed to Zordon. Ninjor remained silent as usual, but... There was something that she wasn't liking about Alpha 5.

It seemed... much more controlling now. Like an annoyingly polite Gendo Ikari.

It was really getting on her nerves.

* * *

Ryoma was stood, waiting in the corridor as the doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with Mana. The lumps had started to multiply, and the doctors had rushed her to surgery.

Nerv had been alerted, and Katsuragi was coming with Maya Ibuki.

This could not get worse.

Then came the screams.

* * *

Rei had sat alone in the empty house. Misato was still on base, worrying over Shinji. Asuka was still on base, having refused to leave.

Perhaps, she too should have refused. It would have been better than this... this loneliness she was feeling.

She screamed when he went down that hole. Down into the angel.

She didn't want to lose him.

She didn't want him to say good-bye.

Why...

Why was she losing him.

Why did it hurt?

* * *

Gendo sat alone in his office, going over the documentation.

The files would never reach SEELE.

They would be dead long before that.

And that was what the Spartans were for.

To do what the Power Rangers could not.

They had a power and a force that the world had never seen before. When Angels were concerned, they had the ability to morph and to even up the score.

No one would ever take them down. They power lies on their side.

But that was why Gendo allowed Shinji to discard his Ranger coin.

Rangers protect.

Spartans Kill.

* * *

Ryoma drew his gun as the bloated, misshapen... thing came out of the surgery room.

It was like... it used to be human.

Now it wasn't.

It was like something from an old zombie movie.

Only with four-foot long ulcers.

And tree roots longer than its body sprouting from its arm.

Ryoma wasn't sure if it was alive, sentient, or even if it was real at all.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Ryoma shouted. "ONE MORE STEP AND I'LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!"

The creature lurched towards him, faster if anything.

Ryoma shot two bullets into the creature's bloated, misshapen head, and it stopped.

More lumbering creatures came out of the surgery, and the thing Ryoma had shot down exploded into half a dozen bloated tumours with crab legs and fangs.

And then Mana walked out of the room.

She had been stripped down for the surgery, and there were still lacerations open from where the doctors had been working on her, but she was covered with so many of the green tumours that it was clear that she was the walking dead, just as much as the others.

This was bad.

Ryoma dropped the gun and grabbed his morpher.** "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"**

**"SABRE-TOOTH TIGER!"**

* * *

The panic bells alerted the whole Nerv Headquarters into action.

Hyuuga showed the CCTV of the battle in the hospital in response to Ryoma's panic button.

They saw the battle.

"It's a parasitic life-form that takes control of its host, living or dead, and makes the hosts corpse seek out more victims." Ritsuko explained as Gendo walked into the command room. "It specifically seeks out human prey, ignoring animal life, and, once infected, uses the host to reproduce more spores to use as weapons and a mode of reproduction."

"Evacuate the civilians into the shelters, seal off the hospital." Gendo ordered. "Order Yellow to retreat immediately and decontaminate the entire hospital."

_\_ "**This is the Flood. Our common enemy.**" _\_

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at this. "How did it get here?" She asked. "And how do we kill it?"

_\_ "**Bardiel must have been infected himself. Standard human infantry will be sufficient at eliminating individual hosts and spores, but a weapon in central dogma will be necessary for a complete elimination of the species."** _\_

"Deploy Red ranger and have the Tyrannosaurus destroy Bardiel by fire immediately." Genoa ordered. "Have the Spartans and Sergeant-First-Class Ikari wipe out every golem within NERV."

_\_ **"The weapon must be deployed to stop the Flood."** _\_ Ireul insisted.**  
**

"Have Ikari equipped with a duplicate Green Ranger costume for the sake of NERV staff morale." Gendo continued, talking over Ireul. "Equip him and the Spartan-II's with battle rifles and shotguns and brief them on what we know of the Flood threat. NERV is under contagion lockdown effective immediately."

Ritsuko looked at Gendo as the rest of the team relayed the orders across to their targets. She could see why Katsuragi was so essential to the operations.

Gendo was too ruthless to think twice about what he was doing.

The worst part was, she couldn't even find any holes in the plane.

Except for the gaping one the golems were going to put into his son.

* * *

"That thing will protect you like a wet paper bag." Kelly commented as Shinji dragged the green shirt over his head.

"I'll rely on you clowns then." Shinji said with a smirk, reaching for the plastic chest plate as Simon loaded a shotgun for him. "Ready?"

"I'll take the lead, Kelly with me." John-117 stated. "Simon, work on taking down any AT-fields, Shinji take the rear. Mark?"

Three lights in his HUD blinked in agreement. "Mark." His team replied, and stormed into the fray.

* * *

Ryoma watched as fire poured into the hospital.

He wouldn't allow himself to cry for Mana.

Not then, not now.

"The job here is done." Misato told him. "Report to Rei and assist in the evacuation. Just in case."

Ryoma nodded, getting into Misato's car as he tried to ignore the inhuman screams coming from within the hospital.

He hoped they weren't from Mana's remains.

* * *

Bardiel felt the red one tear down his defenses, but he could not see why.

She was not here.

Bardiel was all alone.

Then came the purifying flames.

Bardiel screamed.

He was silenced by the N2 mines.

* * *

The whole facility shook as the N2 mine blasted. "Angel death is confirmed." Maya reported, watching the sensors flatline on her monitor as she confirmed the room visually.

_\_ **"You must deploy the weapon"** _\_ Ireul repeated.

"We will see." Gendo said. "Spartan team, report!"

* * *

"All going well." Simon reported as Shinji and Kelly fired round after round into the Golems ahead of them. "We should be done within the hour. Floors 15-13 are secure."

Those around the Spartans marvelled at how they operated. The speed. The skill. The efficiency. The sheer power.

Even the humongous Green Ranger seemed tiny in comparison.

His ranger suit, a symbol of hope for so many, looked like a toy.

But none could deny that he killed with just the same, maybe even greater ferocity than the others.

A wall of flamed purged the corridor ahead of the Spartans, and the Red Ranger strode to face them. "All clear." She shouted. "Who is awesome? I am awesome!"

"Take over neutralising the enemy AT field." the Master Chief ordered, stepping to the front line to join Shinji and Kelly. "Shinji, drop back and take rear guard from Simon, Simon with me."

Asuka fell into position, annoyed at how, once again, her command was being ignored by some military thug. "What crawled up his butt?" She asked Shinji as she stepped into position.

"Focus on the operation T-02." Shinji replied, eye remaining down the scope of his gun.

* * *

Gendo smirked behind his steepled fingers as Iruel continued to state the necessity of its weapon while watching how the Spartans cleanly swept through his base, taking out the rest of the angel infestation.

Next would be Iruel itself, but not until he could replace the Magi.

Shinji seemed to be in control of Leliel, but he would be monitored for the time being.

Gendo was back in control of NERV HQ.

All according to the Scenario.

* * *

Rei and Ryoma were helping direct the flow of people.

Rei, the Blue Ranger, had the trust and love of the people of Tokyo-03. She and Eikichi had been defending Tokyo-03 for years, and she was loved in a way that none of the other Rangers were. She was a pillar of safety in this dangerous situation.

Ryoma, the Yellow Ranger, was loud, arrogant, but he too had won Tokyo-03's hearts with his reckless bravery, his concern for protecting the innocent, and the way he had used himself as a shield to protect that young woman back in November, fighting that golem with his knives. He was a hero, and would defend them from anything that would come their way.

Just seeing those two, even without the other three rangers, calmed the masses and helped them towards the safety of the underground shelters.

All according to the Scenario.

* * *

The corpse that once was Mana Kirishima screamed amongst the flames.

She was black and cracked already, and the eyes were gone.

A spill of chemicals had bleached her lips and jaw bone white, and the fluid that boiled out of her sockets had polished the bottom and outer rim of her sockets into a shining silver.

Red sores cracked across her body, burning white from the boiling pus.

Two holes opened up on her bald skull, and golden light came from the two holes on her crown.

A mind awoke amidst the torture.

A mind born of pain in this impromptu graveyard.

She named herself as such.

Far above the hospital, watching from a throne on the moon, a red figure laughed.

All according to the Scenario.

* * *

Lorenz Keel smirked as he read the reports NERV had sent him.

He had no reason to doubt them.

Another angel defeated, and a new candidate for Black Ranger was requested.

All according to the Scenario.

* * *

Far away from Tokyo-03, Kaworu Nagisa blew a speck of dust from the needle of the record player and placed it upon the record.

The drum beat started, powerful and consistent, and the humanoid angel sat down as the guitar wailed in agony.

Tapping his feet, he nodded his head to keep in time with the music, whistling along to the grief-stricken harmonica.

* * *

The doorway to the hospital burst open as the flames died.

Smoke poured out into the street, and the UN soldiers that had gathered around it raised their arms.

A feminine silhouette was visible, walking slowly through the smoke.

One soldier lowered his weapon as he recognised the lights on the figures head.

The Black Ranger.

He was rewarded with a green tendril piercing his right eyeball.

The rest of his unit opened fire on the figure, now clearly an enemy.

**do not be afraid.**

She was followed by several Warrior and Carrier form Flood victims pouring from the windows and doors as the black figure continued its assault.

**i am peace. i am salvation.**

She was half skeleton, half scorched flesh. There was an area of her incinerated face, around the mouth and chin, that was bone white, and the rims of her empty eye sockets were shining silver in the sunlight.

Some areas of white bone were visible in criss-crossing areas on her torso. Two holes on her forehead shone white.

One soldier's dying thought was how she looked very much like a sick, twisted effigy of the black ranger.

Especially dragging that mutated axe behind her.

**i am a monument to all your sins**

And the Flood had captured Tokyo-03 Municipal Hospital.

* * *

Kaworu smiled as his favourite bard began to sing and mimed along to the lyrics of this song.

_If it keeps on rainin', levees goin' to break._

_If it keeps on rainin', levees goin' to break._

_When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay..._

The voice stopped for a moment, and Kaworu continued to take in the sounds.

_Mean old levee, taught me to weep and moan._

_Mean old levee, taught me to weep and mo-oaannn..._

_Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home..._

_Oh well, oh well, oh well._

Kaowru smiled, feeling the pain that was about to be poured out upon Tokyo-03, drinking it in like sweet wine.

Now to see if those Rangers could take the thunder.

* * *

**=]+[=**

* * *

Doesn't it make you feel bad when you're trying to find your way home and you don't know which way to go?

Grin.

I am back ladies and gentlemen.

I wrote the second half of this chapter twice, you know, from Ryoma morphing downwards. First attempt was amazing, but was deleted as logged me out. Grrr. Not sure which version is better, but the first draft did not have Kaowru.

I loved this. It was grinding to write at some times, but once I get to it this morning, it was beautiful to type, until I lost everything. Once I regained my spark, it was a pleasure.

Halo. Eva. Power Rangers.

Next chapter, the levee breaks.


End file.
